The distillery, originally named Scotia, was established in 1832 by Stewart, Galbraith & Co, who managed it until 1895. In 1919, it became one of the founding members of West Highland Malt Distilleries, a cooperative of six Campbeltown distilleries formed to share costs and avoid closure. However, five of the six distilleries failed. In 1924, as Campbeltown distilleries faced widespread closures, Scotia was purchased by Duncan MacCallum, the founder of Glen Nevis. MacCallum was forced to close the distillery in 1928, but it reopened in 1930. Tragically, MacCallum committed suicide that same year after losing his life savings in a scam (his ghost is rumored to haunt the distillery). Subsequently, the distillery was purchased by Bloch Bros, who added ‘Glen’ to its name.
Bloch Bros retained ownership until 1954, when their distillery estate was sold to the Canadian company Hiram Walker. However, it soon became clear that Campbeltown malt wasn’t part of Hiram Walker’s strategy, and within 12 months, the distillery was sold to blender A. Gillies & Co.
Gillies later became part of Amalgamated Distilled Products Ltd (ADP), which supplied bulk and bottled malt under various names globally. ADP also owned Barton Brands (see Loch Lomond). Despite reconstruction efforts in the late 1970s, Glen Scotia was closed between 1984 and 1989. When it reopened, it was under the ownership of Gibson International, which had acquired ADP’s distilling assets.
In 1994, Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse Ltd purchased Gibson’s whisky interests and soon mothballed Glen Scotia again. The distillery operated intermittently until 1999, when it resumed full production. Though a 12-year-old whisky was available, it was mainly found in occasional independent bottlings. In 2012, a new range with eye-catching packaging featuring Highland cows was introduced. Following Glen Catrine’s acquisition by private equity firm Exponent in 2014, there are hopes for further investment in both the distillery and its brands.
