Whisky icon John Campbell on Lochlea and the new Cask Strength Batch 1

Lochlea stands for premium single malt whiskies from the heart of Ayrshire in Scotland. The independent family business grows and harvests 100% of its own barley, ensuring full traceability from field to bottle. As Production Director and Master Blender, John Campbell looks after the products. He has been working in the Scotch whisky industry for over 28 years and previously worked as Distillery Manager at Laphroaig – so he is a real icon. His latest creation, Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 1, is currently being launched in Germany and will soon be available at Kirsch Import.

We talked to John Campbell in an interview about the distillery, the products and their special features. In addition, Commercial Director David Ferguson answered our questions about the cooperation with Kirsch Import and Lochlea’s activities on the German market.

Originally you worked as a fisherman. How did you get from there to whisky?

John Campbell: The reason I left being a lobster fisherman was I wanted to buy a house and the bank manager wouldn’t lend me the money due to being self-employed. I wanted a house on Islay and so decided that the best distillery to work at would be Laphroaig. I started there on November the 14th, 1994.

You were then at Laphroaig and from there it was on to Lochlea. Why did you choose Lochlea?

John Campbell: Lochlea chose me! And it was the right opportunity at the right time as I wanted to develop myself in the blending side of the whisky industry. I also have boardroom responsibilities with Lochlea and so have developed even further as a result of this.

What sets your products apart from other whisky brands on the market? 

John Campbell: Lochlea is independently owned, produces 100 percent of its malted barley on the farm, fully matured on site and is more of a single estate type of product. We recently won the best single estate distillery in the world at a prestigious award ceremony.

How has your personal professional journey influenced the Lochlea brand and its products? 

John Campbell: My journey and experience so far has helped Lochlea understand what’s needed to prepare technically, supported with longer term planning and using industry contacts to help us evolve the project as fast as we can go and be prepared for the future in our journey.

How do you feel about Lochlea now being available at cask strength in Germany? 

John Campbell: I am very excited for this launch as I feel at this age cask strength shows the full depth of the Lochlea flavor profile and it’s growing massively year on year.

What aromas and flavors distinguish Lochlea’s Cask Strength Edition? 

John Campbell: Fruit punch, apples, pears, coffee beans, orange syrup and dry oak shavings.

What are Lochlea’s plans for future product development and editions? 

John Campbell: The seasons will develop over the 4 crops that will be available. Our award winning Our Barley will also keep improving. We have lots of exciting things we want to show everyone, we are working towards age statement products, we have exciting collaborations to show with partners in different industries, we have new cask styles that are working very well with our new spirit we want to show and we will improve all that we do as we go along. Very excited for the future!

David Ferguson, in Germany, your products are distributed by Kirsch Import. How is this cooperation going?

David Ferguson: We partnered with Kirsch Import from our very first release, and that relationship has continued to grow ever since. They clearly have an excellent reputation in the German market, so I’m confident our brand is in good hands.

Are there any products that were particularly in demand in Germany?

David Ferguson: Until recently we did not have a peated single malt whisky to offer, but with the launch of our Ploughing Edition in January we can now answer ‘do you have a smoky one’ with ‘yes!

What marketing and advertising strategies does Lochlea use to promote its products in Germany? 

David Ferguson: We work closely with Kirsch Import on advertising and promotion around product launches, and throughout the year. We also support in the market with our team through hosting tastings and attending events as much as possible.

What else is planned?

David Ferguson: The new release Cask Strength Batch 1 will sit alongside our core single malt whisky ‘Lochlea Our Barley’ and our 4 seasonal limited editions (Sowing, Harvest, Fallow, Ploughing). The seasonal expressions will continue for 4 batches (we call them Crops) before we move onto our age statement whiskies. There will also be some very interesting one-off releases in the next few years as well.

Lochlea | Website | Instagram | Facebook

+++ We thank John Campbell and David Ferguson for the open and very interesting interview! If you too have an interesting brand, then we should talk. Just send us an email with the subject “about-drinks interview” to redaktion@about-drinks.com – we look forward to hearing from you! +++