Campbeltown Blended Malt 9yo
Watt Whisky Release | 57.1% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A quality bourbon cask release
December for family - January is for me.
December was such a busy month that, looking back, I’m not entirely convinced it didn’t quietly slip in an extra week when no one was paying attention.
My calendar was filling up well before we even reached the start of November. By mid-month it was starting to creak under the weight of family events - most of them added, with great enthusiasm and zero hesitation, by Mrs Campbell to our shared calendar.
There’s a particular dread that comes from hearing your phone ping and knowing, without even looking, that it’s not a work meeting or a dentist reminder but another “wee thing” that, apparently, we’ve always done and therefore must continue doing. All this on top of work, the usual domestic load, and the general emotional admin of family life. December doesn’t so much arrive as it does descend.
Our Christmas ramps up earlier than most (I think), and not because we’re the sort of people who put the tree up immediately following Halloween or have a spreadsheet for stocking fillers. No, our particular festive acceleration comes courtesy of our daughter, who turned three this year and whose birthday falls just a few days before Christmas.
From the beginning, we’ve been determined that her birthday should be its own thing. Its own celebration. Its own presents. Its own chaos. None of this “joint gift” nonsense or “we’ll just roll it into Christmas morning”. Mrs Campbell has a January birthday and has always considered that bad enough, as traditionally people can be partied out and financially drained at that point of the year.
But the noble intention comes with consequences. It means a full round of family gatherings, a children’s party, and the logistical ballet of cake, balloons, and sugar-fuelled toddlers… all in the narrow window before Christmas properly kicks off. It’s like running a marathon and discovering at mile 26 that someone has added a bonus hill “for fun”.
Incredibly - almost suspiciously - I would say that my whisky consumption during December was actually down. Not because of any virtuous restraint on my part, but because there were simply fewer quiet moments to sit, breathe, and pour something interesting. I love to share whisky, but I am also very much a person who values that quiet time of reflection with a dram.
Instead, December became a month of intense bursts. A dram grabbed between wrapping presents. A quick nip after wrestling a plastic toy into existence using instructions clearly written by someone who hates parents. A celebratory pour once the birthday party was over and the last toddler had been reunited with its rightful adult.
These weren’t the long, contemplative sessions where you can sit with a whisky, let it open up, and pretend you’re the sort of person who has time to think about yeast types. These were tactical drams. Functional drams. The whisky equivalent of a power nap.
And then, of course, there was the Whisky Advent Calendar. In theory, this should have been the perfect way to keep my December dramming structured and civilised. One dram a day. A moment of calm. A shared experience with the community. A gentle countdown to Christmas. In theory.
In practice, the calendar became a sort of whisky-based Schrödinger’s box: simultaneously a daily ritual and a backlog of guilt. Some days I was on track. Other days I was three samples behind and contemplating whether it was socially acceptable to drink an advent dram early in the day “for admin purposes”.
Others in the Advent Calendar group had their own peaks and troughs of consumption and it’s a great thing to still have the check-ins to see who is on it and who is not. The beauty of the calendar - beyond the liquid itself - was that sense of connection. Even on the days when life brought chaos, there was something grounding about knowing that other folk were also opening their little numbered doors, nosing their samples, and sharing their thoughts. It made December feel less like a runaway train and more like a slightly chaotic group hike where everyone is pretending they're not lost.
Here’s a reworded version that keeps your tone, humour, and rhythm, but tightens the flow and gives it a slightly more polished narrative feel.
And just to spice things up, we somehow ended up with both a Dramface Live Podcast and an Aqvavitae Lock-In dropped into the diary at short notice. Brilliant nights, the pair of them - but honestly, who schedules two cracking whisky events back-to-back with barely a warning?
So yes - December was busy. Far too busy. But it was also full. Full of family, full of noise, full of those small, chaotic moments that will mean more in hindsight than they did at the time. And running through it all, like a familiar tune you catch yourself humming, was whisky: sometimes savoured, sometimes hurried, sometimes skipped entirely, but always present.
And of course, this is Scotland, where January 1st is practically a family festival in its own right, and the 2nd is a national day of recovery. So, we tumbled straight into 2026 with more than twenty relatives in the house - an occasion we should, in fairness, be grateful for.
Now, with the decorations packed away and the calendar blessedly empty for at least a week, I can finally sit down with a dram properly. Just a glass, a quiet room, and a chance to take stock of the month that steamrolled past. No rush. No party bags. No unicorn balloons. Well, that’s a lie, there’s still one lurking in the hall.
December was cask strength. Here’s hoping January pours something a little gentler.
Review
Campbeltown Blended Malt, Watt Whisky, 2025 release, 57.1% ABV
£66.50 still some availability
Over the last year, and in particular since I was at the Campbeltown Malts festival in 2025, I have become increasingly aware of the Watt Whisky brand. There are such a great range of Independent Bottlers at the moment that it really cannot be an easy space to launch as an IB: your product needs to be consistently good. I was a bit surprised to be honest, when the internet told me they had been in operation as The Campbeltown Whisky Company since 2019.
With family hailing from Glebe Street in the Wee Toon, it doesn’t take much to tempt me to review some Campbeltown produce though, and it seems fitting for an article with a family theme.
It is un-chillfiltered and natural colour as you would expect, a release of only 252 bottles.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A quality bourbon cask release
Nose
The warm vanilla and gentle toasted oak ease in first, wrapped in that unmistakable coastal salinity. A bit of Christmas-cake spice follows, but there are brighter notes that lift everything: fresh, juicy citrus, ripe orange zest, joined by sweet lychees. A light drizzle of honey.
Palate
This seems to straddle that line between oiliness and creaminess beautifully – feeling thickly indulgent. The first impression is rich and caramelly, a clear first-fill bourbon character rolls in: sweet vanilla, warm honey, soft toffee and a touch of sticky toffee pudding. There is some nuanced spice - pepper, a little oak warmth, a flicker of Christmas-cake seasoning. The fruit sits just behind the sweetness: tinned nectarines and mandarin segments in syrup, a hint of tropical fruit. A little roasted peanut and salted caramel add depth and chew, giving the whole palate a juicy, honeyed taste.
The finish is long, far longer than you expect from the first sip to be honest. It tapers off with burnt caramel, a touch of toasted oak and a lingering sweetness.
The Dregs
It is reminiscent of the new Glen Scotia 12 year old bourbon cask release, the colour isn’t as dark but from memory the taste is very similar – I will have to say from memory as my bottle of the Glen Scotia 12 got ‘rinsed’ pretty quickly so isn’t available as a reference point.
I believe that this may basically be Glen Scotia single malt, possibly tea-spooned, but then we know that tea-spooning may not necessarily involve the teaspoon containing liquid. Now call me suspicious, but a release of 252 bottles sounds to me a bit like a single cask release you aren’t allowed to call a single cask release(?).
It would be the perfect question to pose during a visit to the newly opened Watt Whisky shop in Campbeltown’s Cross Street, which is open for bottle shopping, tastings and whisky chit-chat. A quick Google tells me they’re not open until 10am on Wednesday the 7th January. New Year done right is important down on the Peninsula too it seems.
As a bourbon cask fiend, and a fairly new convert to Glen Scotia, I have really enjoyed this. I think there is a bit more about the flavour than the Glen Scotia 12, definitely a longer finish and a bit more complexity but is it worth the extra cost above the Glen Scotia 12? I think it’s priced really fairly in my honest opinion. Maybe some would be put off by the ‘blended’ label, but the flavour absolutely sings, I'd pay £65 for this all day long.
Especially if I thought the calendar would gift me the time to sit and enjoy it.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. CC
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