Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness — Hiroshima’s specialist whisky & rum bar with 1,000+ bottles
There was a time when Campbeltown, a small town at the end of the Kintyre Peninsula in western Scotland, was the whisky capital of the world. In the late 19th century, more than 30 distilleries operated there. Today, three remain: Springbank, Glengyle, and Glen Scotia. And of those three, Springbank tells the most concentrated story of what happened to Campbeltown and why its whisky survives with such fierce distinctiveness.
The Three Lives
Campbeltown whisky went through several periods — boom, collapse, and slow revival — that mirror the wider story of Scotch whisky but in miniature. The first life was the golden age: herring fishing, coal, and distilling as the three industries of a prosperous town. The second was the crash: prohibition in America, changing tastes, and the economic pressures of the early 20th century destroying most of the distilleries within decades. The third is the current situation: a tiny whisky region with an official designation (Campbeltown is one of Scotland’s five whisky-producing regions), carrying more history per square kilometre than almost anywhere else in the world.
Springbank, owned by the Mitchell family since 1828, has survived all three of these periods. It is the only distillery in Scotland that still performs every stage of production — malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation, and bottling — entirely on site. This is not an artisanal affectation. It is the continuation of a pre-industrial approach that most of the industry abandoned for economic reasons.
The Springbank Character
Springbank’s character is not easily categorised. It has some maritime influence from the coastal location. Some peat. Some of the fresh, creamy quality of lowland malts. Some of the fruit and complexity of Speyside. The sum of all these things is simply Springbank — a style that does not quite fit any category, which is itself a reflection of Campbeltown’s position between all of Scotland’s whisky cultures.
Springbank expressions are available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the full Japanese column: little-happiness.jp/columns/springbank-10yo-history/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
english.little-happiness.jp