Meet the Team: John

In our Meet the Team series, we’ll find out a bit more about the people involved in producing Lochlea single malt whisky.

Today we’re talking to John Campbell, our Production Director and Master Blender.

What does your job involve?

I oversee everything on site, including the distilling operations, cask management and ultimately the consistent quality of whiskies from Lochlea.

What’s something you’re really bad at?

Names. Places I’ve been, people I’ve met… I just get names wrong but sometimes it can be quite funny.

What are you looking forward to in the future?

What my boys will do, what I will do, where I’ll be, who will be with me… There’s a book I read to my youngest son, it’s called “Oh the People You’ll Be” (side note to the reader: he means “Oh the Places You’ll Go) by Dr. Seuss and it’s just brilliant. It fills you with positivity and I think everyone should read that book.

Do you believe in ghosts?

No. I’m a scientist. If somebody tells me they’ve seen a ghost, I’ll say ‘lovely,’ but something’s caught your eye or it’s a trick of the light.

What about aliens?

Yes. Because I’ve been to Zone 49 (side note to the reader, again: he means Area 51. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was bad at names!)

What’s the most interesting fact you know?

Well, I used to wear headphones to the gym until I learned that wearing them for one hour whilst working out results in 7,000 times the normal amount of bacteria in your ears. I do clean my ears, but this fact has stopped me from wearing headphones!

What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about whisky?

I feel people can be too influenced by brands now. You understand yourself better than anybody else, so just go with your gut instinct, embrace it and enjoy it!

You can follow John’s whisky adventures over on Instagram at @jcampbellwhisky