Beautifully captured snaps show King Charles enjoying a whisky tasting session when he visited a Scottish town famous for its distilleries. Heading inside from the wind and rain, the monarch visited Campbeltown and readily sipped an award-winning 25-year-old single malt by the Glen Scotia distillery.
Charles is known to like whisky produced using peat, which has a very distinctive flavour, and he asked Iain McAlister, master distiller and manager of Glen Scotia’s distillery in Campbeltown: “Is it a peaty one?” and was told it was not.
He watched as a double measure from the whisky, costing more than £500 a bottle, was poured, and after taking a sip said: “I’m always so amused by these people who describe these whiskies in the most amazing ways.”
On the distillery’s website the whisky is described as having “hints of vanilla oak interwoven with the subtle notes of sea spray and spicy aromatic fruits”.
Mr McAlister presented a bottle of the whisky to mark the visit and said afterwards: “It doesn’t get much better than this, having the King try our whisky.”
Glen Scotia Distillery marked King Charles’s visit to Campbeltown with a specially engraved bottle, which featured unique engraving. It read: “To celebrate the royal visit of King Charles to Campbeltown 3rd July 2025.”
Mr McAlister further added: “His visit not only recognises the town’s historical significance, but also its vibrant whisky-making community. We are proud to gift The King a bespoke bottling of our 25 Year Old to celebrate this special moment, a whisky that reflects the depth of character and craftsmanship which define Glen Scotia and Campbeltown.”
Wearing a tartan kilt for the occasion, Charles first visited the local farmer’s market where he watched sheep being sheared, met charity and community organisations in the town hall where the distillery had a stand, and finally visited the harbour area.
During the Town Hall reception, the King met invited guests from organisations providing essential community services.
Representatives from Kintyre Foodbank, South Kintyre Development Trust, Argyll and Bute Women’s Aid and local Women’s Rural Institutes were in attendance.
Charles’s visit formed part of the annual week of engagements in Scotland.