A fond farewell to Iain McAlister, master distiller at Glen Scotia

“And I’m thinking, God what have I done? What did I do coming here? This is terrible…”

Above is an excerpt from our tasting with Iain McAlister, master distiller at Glen Scotia in Campbeltown, recorded as part of this year’s Anthology of Whisky, Vol. 1 aka our ‘Holiday Tasting Kit’.

It’s an annual labour of love that lets us reach whisky fans in the comfort of their own home, as we present the whiskies and distilleries that should be on the radar of all whisky lovers in 2025.

This year’s kit had a focus on the Scotch whisky roads less travelled, which included not one but two stops in Campbeltown. While it was an honour to be the first to share the newly released (and fully sold out) Springbank 5 Year Old 100 Proof release with Canadians, the real honour having the last word with Iain McAlister, on the eve of his departure from Campbeltown as he set sail for China to build a new distillery in Chengdu.

The result was a heartfelt and poignant tasting of the Glen Scotia 15 Year Old with Iain as he reminisced about his arrival at the distillery and the arc of whisky and whisky fandom over the last two decades.

(Click the video to hear the dread in Iain’s voice describing his arrival at Glen Scotia: having visited Iain in those early days of distillery’s re-opening, we can say he speaks the truth!)

As long time fans of both Iain and Glen Scotia, suffice to say it was an emotional farewell. Tears may have been involved, as evidenced by the screenshot below of Iain, somewhat embarrassed.

It’s always a pleasure to taste and learn from the people crafting the whiskies we enjoy, but suffice to say it was a bittersweet ending to this particular session.

That said, we take comfort in knowing that his efforts and legacy will mature in Glen Scotia’s warehouses for years to come.