Return to The Hart Brothers Archive »
Prior to the passing of the Excise Act of 1823, which sanctioned the distilling of whisky in return for a license fee of £10.00 and a set payment per gallon of proof spirit, Campbeltown, due to the remoteness and the inaccessibility of the area was home to over 100 illicit stills.
Campbeltown was certainly one of the first centres of commercial distilling and had a reputation to rival Speyside. Between 1880 and the 1920s, there were thirty four working distilleries, producing some 2 million gallons of spirit per annum. Campbeltown vied with Elgin in Speyside as the whisky capital of Scotland.
Glen Scotia is one of the last three great Campbeltown survivors. The others are Springbank, and Glengyle Distillery which went back into production in January 2004.
The distillery is said to be haunted by the ghost of a previous owner, Duncan MacCallum who bought the distillery in 1924. He committed suicide in 1930 after losing a fortune in a crooked business deal. He drowned himself in Campbeltown Loch, later made famous in a popular song by Scots entertainer, Andy Stewart. The singer dreams that the loch is full of whisky, not water, and tries to drink it dry.
In 1928 the distillery was closed, as did so many of its neighbours, and later reopened in 1933. In 1954 the distillery was sold to Hiram Walker who sold it on to A. Gillies & Company who became part of Amalgamated Distilled Products Limited in 1970.
The distillery was again closed in 1984. In 1989 it was purchased by Gibson International who went into receivership in 1994 and production again ceased.
The current owners are the Loch Lomond Distillery Company who have since refitted and recommenced distilling.
Campbeltowns are traditionally full-flavoured and full-bodied whiskies, famous for their depth of flavour and for their slightly salty tang in the finish.
The unique and alluring nature of Single Cask releases means we cannot bring you the same delightful elixirs again and again – once the whisky is gone, it’s gone for good. The expressions live as a fragment of the past, never to be repeated.
We invite you to delve into our whisky archives. Explore past releases and bask in amber nostalgia, accompanied with distillery history and tasting notes from Mr. Hart himself.
Hart Brothers can trace their origins in the licensed trade back to the late 19th century when the family were licensed victuallers and publicans in Paisley, the mill town on the outskirts of Glasgow. It was not until 1964 that brothers Iain & Donald Hart incorporated the company as Wine & Spirit Wholesalers and Scotch Whisky Blenders.
Alistair Hart joined the company in 1975 and it was his responsibility as chief blender to source vintage casks of single malt whisky that were not readily available through any specialist whisky shop or online whisky site. Today, we continue to secure special and rare malt and grain whiskies that are further matured and only selected for single cask bottling after careful tasting and consideration.
We always pride ourselves on continuing the spirit of excellence by offering some of the finest single malt scotch whisky available through our selected distributors overseas.
We make sure our customers can best share with us the single malt scotch whisky experience which is why we add nothing to the malt whisky other than the purest water. Today, we pride ourselves on continuing the spirit of excellence by offering some of the finest single malt scotch whisky available through our selected distributors overseas.
Hart Brothers Limited, 3 Peel Park Place, College Milton, East Kilbride G74 5LW, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0) 1355 247 180 | Fax: +44 (0) 1355 244 615
