Springbank Distillery 云顶蒸馏厂

    在介绍云顶（Springbank）酒厂之前，一定要介绍一下它所坐落的苏格兰西南方的半岛Campbeltown这个地方，早在19世纪，Campbeltown就作为威士忌的四大产区之一，在当时的威士忌生产中占有及其重要的地位。那时一个Campbeltown挤了30多家蒸馏厂，四方林立的酒厂，让镇上的每个角落都充斥着新蒸馏威士忌原酒的麦芽香味。
　　随着上一次酒业的萧条，Campbeltown的蒸馏厂纷纷倒闭，最后只剩下Springbank一家酒厂，但是Campbeltown特殊的威士忌风味特质：复杂、强劲、油酯丰富，却在当时确立下来，并由Springbank这个酒厂传承下来，直到目前苏格兰的每位品酒大师都不讳言，Springbank绝对是一个有独特气味并数一数二的好酒厂。

　　2004年Springbank酒厂集团将停工75年Glengyle蒸馏厂复工，加上1997年复工的Hazelburn,以及1973年开始蒸馏Longrow，目前Springbank酒厂集团下有四個酒厂，再加上Glen Scotia，Campbeltown的五家酒厂让往日光芒回复了六分之一。

　　Springbank创始于1828年，是由苏格兰的一个最古老的家族Mitchell独自拥有，它也应该是目前苏格兰唯一一家从头到尾每一个制作威士忌的过程，直到装瓶都在自己厂中完成的酒厂，到目前它仍坚持100%传统的地板发麦，每一个步骤尽可能用人而不是用机器取代，所以说这酒是苏格兰最纯手工制作的威士忌也不为过。

　　不加香精！不加焦糖染色！不冷凝过滤！这酒厂完全不想因为市场而对品质有所松懈。除掉2004年新設立的酒厂Glengyle外，Hazelburn做三次蒸馏，Springbank做二次半蒸馏，Longrow做二次蒸馏，每一个酒厂都是为了全面发挥威士忌的可能性而创设。关于麦芽的处理，Hazelburn不用泥煤燻烤，Springbank用了6个小时的泥媒燻烤，而Longrow花了整整48小時来作泥煤燻烤。每个酒厂一直坚持不同特质的处理，或许对品质的坚持正对其古老家族名声的尊敬，也是其在商业的残酷竞争中活下来屹立不摇的城堡。

     Campbeltown is one of Scotland's four recognised whisky-producing regions and is situated on the Mull of Kintyre, some 240 km from Glasgow.

It is a historic Royal Burgh and has been occupied for over 8000 years. Once home to a big fishing fleet, there were also no less than 37 distilleries established here during the 19th century, earning the town the nickname "The Whisky Capital of the World".

By 1925, with the closing of Reichlachan Distillery, Springbank and Glen Scotia were the only distilleries left.

    The opening of Mitchells Glengyle Distillery on 25th March 2004 incresed the number of distilleries in Campbeltown to three, allowing the town to legitimately reclaim its place amongst the great whisky producing regions.

    There is a lot more to the area than just whisky production though. The world-famous Machrihanish Golf Club is a 10 minute drive to the west of Campbeltown and draws thousands of visitors every year. The championship-standard course regularly features high up on the lists of the best courses in Britain and the rest of the world. Excellent golf can also be enjoyed at Dunaverty in Southend and at Carradale.