The story of J and A Mitchell begins much like a Les Dawson joke, with the brothers John and William Mitchell’s in-laws – the Reid family. It was the Reid family who established Springbank Distillery in 1828 on the site of Archibald Mitchell’s illicit still, but they could only retain distillery until 1837, when they were forced to sell due to financial pressure. This is where the Mitchell brothers (John and William, not Phil and Grant, obviously) founded J and A Mitchell & Co in 1897, and the company’s current owner and chairman is the great, great grandson of Archibald Mitchell, Hedley Wright.
The firm gradually expanded over the next century, first adding to its portfolio in 1969 with the purchase of the independent bottling company William Cadenhead. Based out of Aberdeen, it had operated as a wine and spirits merchant there since 1842, with a particular focus on rum and whisky.
J and A Mitchell weren’t finished there, however, and in 2000 the site and structures of Campbeltown’s former Glengyle distillery were acquired by Hedley Wright, returning the former distillery to the Mitchell family, as William Mitchell founded it in 1872. After almost eight decades of silence, production began again in 2004, making Glengyle, which now distills Kilkerran, the first ‘new’ whisky-making facility in Campbeltown for over 125 years.
J&A Mitchell & Co remain an important figure in the Scotch whisky world today, and boast such offerings as Spirit Of Freedom 62, Spirit of Freedom 45 and Campbeltown Loch 21 Year Old 46%, amongst its Springback and Kilkerran efforts.
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Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep gold.
Nose: Polished fruit, red apples, soft caramel, vanilla and a light sea-salted edge.
Palate: Fruity and elegant, with pepper, apples, nectarines and gentle oak sweetness.
Finish: Long and mellow, with caramel, soft coffee notes and lingering fruit.
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