There’s an old saying about buses: you wait all day for one, then three come at once.

As whisky fans, we waited over 180 years (not literally, obviously) for a new distillery in Campbeltown, then in the space of 16 months plans have been announced for three new facilities on the world’s most famous whisky producing peninsula.

It’s often said that Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world, being home to at least 25 distilleries in its heyday. Today only Glengyle, Glen Scotia and Springbank fly the flag for Campbeltown.

Each of these distilleries are well-loved in their own right. Springbank in particular enjoys an almost cult-like reputation and there’s always a scramble for the latest release. However, whisky drinkers have an unquenchable thirst for our next dram, and the news of potential new whisky being produced in Campbeltown has been met with great excitement and curiosity.

Below we will recap these announcements while we eagerly anticipate the first bricks to be laid and the first casks to be filled at these distilleries.

MACHRIHANISH DISTILLERY

First off the mark were R&B Distillers when they announced plans for Machrihanish Distillery in February 2022. R&B Distillers are the company behind the immensely popularity Isle of Raasay Distillery and hope to replicate that success in Campbeltown.

Sustainability and provenance will be at the heart of Machrihanish. Their current plans are to produce 400,000 litres of spirit annually, and aim to completely avoid using fossil fuels in their production. They will also be a farm-to-bottle distillery, utilising locally sourced barley grown using biological farming practices.

Not much has been made of the whisky that will be produced at Machrihanish, other than they want to produce a slightly different style of whisky compared to what we might expect from a typical Campbeltown malt.

The proposed distillery will also be a boost to the local economy, creating over 20 jobs and will feature a visitor centre to attract tourists.

In addition to Machrihanish, R&B Distillers also revealed plans to build a micro distillery in Coldstream in the Scottish Borders. This distillery will be focussed on grain rather than single malt whisky.

Plans are to break ground on the Machrihanish site in 2023 and those wishing to follow their story can subscribe to the mailing list on the Machrihanish Distillery website.

DÁL RIATA DISTILLERY

Whisky fans must have had a sense of deja vu when Dál Riata Distillery was announced just days after the reveal of Machrihanish.

The planned distillery will be owned and operated by South Star Spirits and will overlook the famous Campbeltown Loch. A retail and visitor centre will also be built in the Longrow area adjacent to the distillery.

Dál Riata Distillery takes its name from a Gaelic kingdom that existed between the 6th and 9th centuries which encompassed much of the west of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland. The capital of this region was Dunadd Fort in Argyll, and the new distillery will pay homage to this history by using barley from nearby Dunadd Hillfort, Lochgilphead.

Current plans expect production capacity to reach 850,000 litres a year and will produce a style of spirit consistent with other malts from the West of Scotland.

South Star Spirits is the sister company of well known independent bottler North Star. While North Star will remain focussed on bottling, the team at South Star will be primarily concentrating on operating the new distillery.

However, to celebrate the launch of the company and the Dál Riata plans they released a trio of single malts from undisclosed distilleries across Scotland under the South Star brand.

WITCHBURN DISITLLERY

Jump forward a year or so and renowned indie-bottler Brave New Spirits reveal they have submitted planning application for a new distillery on the site of the former RAF Machrihanish in Campbeltown.

Brave New Spirits have worked with Organic Architects to design a net-zero distillery powered entirely by green, renewable energy sources. The distillery plans to operate 24/7 in order to reuse as much heat and energy as possible. As such, production capacity is expected to reach 2 million litres per year.

Witchburn Distillery aims to produce a spectrum of different styles, running the gamut from heavily peated to unpeated and highlighting a variety of cask types including Oloroso, Tawny and Ruby Port and organic Bordeaux wine barriques. However, they ultimately aim to produce a classic Campbeltown, full-bodied malt whisky.

Maturation is planned to occur onsite, with warehouses near the sea.

The master distiller for the project will be Andrew Nairn, who brings experience from his time working with Glenkinchie, Strathmill and Borders Distillery.

If the proposed plans are approved then production is hoped to begin in late 2024.

As stated each of these distilleries are yet to be built, so it will unfortunately be a few years before we get a chance to enjoy a dram from any of them. But after waiting for over a century, I’m sure a few more years won’t hurt.

It will be exciting to see what the future holds for these three distilleries. They each have their own story and will produce whisky with its own unique character. Time will tell how they will fit into Campbeltown’s storied history while forging their own identities in the wider whisky world.