Springbank 23yo 53.7% James MacArthur's
My problem with Springbank is the fact that they produce a peaty quality malt that all to often is put in some weird wine cask. Gaja Barolo anyone? But when presented at a high strength in a traditional bourbon cask I often find it to be amazing. The label says nothing about what cask(s) this has endured during its lifetime, but the colour is pale and the abv is high. The smells is peaty, herbal, burnt wool, farm, barnyard, salty. The taste is Sweet, peppery, slightly peaty with lots of fruity notes, honeycomb, melon, sweet green grapes, pears, perfect, just perfect. This is too good to criticize for lacking puch. It's just a perfect summers dram, or all year dram for that matter.
Perfect Springbank: 10
Springbank 16yo 1993-2010 52.4% OB Private Bottling
From a second fill sherry hogshead, light orange hue, let's see how much influence the sherry has during a second fill maturation. Smells peppery, flinty, a bit peaty, licorice allsorts, not much sherry influence that I can detect. The palate is sweet and slightly peppery, almost a bit bland. Its saved by a finish of peat and peppery notes, but all in all this is a pretty unilateral whisky, not much going on.
Less complex than any standard OB Springbank: 3
Springbank 10yo 57% OB
I tried the Longrow 100proof the other day, and it was amazing, lets see how this less peated variant functions. It smells of sour candy, soap, cream, dried berries, burnt matches, chilli and dark tap ale. The taste is rustic, kind of old-fashioned kirschwein, red wine, tannins, goat cheese and chili peppers, nothing short of perfect if you like your red wine dry. And I do!! The aftertaste is just a bit too much on liquorice, I wish they'd given this another year in the cask(s).
Great springbank: 8
Springbank 21yo 46% OB
I'm taking the plunge with some finer older whiskies, and rarities indeed, this sunday. First of is this rather rare, and quite expensive 21yo Springbank. Older Springbanks are reaching astronomical prices nowadays so get your hands on some before it's to late and they start producing more like Bruichladdich. This smells sweet, honeyed, camphor, ginger, reminds me of older more sherried versions of Highland Park, nice!!! The taste has sort of a lowland-style, burns the throat, but not peaty or anything, just sourness and heavy spices. It needs a wee drop of water. Elegant and rustic, reminds me of the air in some german cities, Trier, Münster... Fresh but with a true prescence of older days if it makes any sense.
I'll have this over Hazelburn and Longrow any day: 7
Springbank 15yo 46% OB
I love the fact that a place so little known for good whiskies as Campbeltown has such a highly regarded whisky as Springbank. Let's try this one then. It needs some time to open up, but when it does it's all on citrus and oak, very complex but still subtle scents. The taste is fresh, cinnamon, white pepper, sour cream, a fantastic taste it is indeed. The aftertaste is again on lemon, with a nice addition of some peppery notes. I guess I like the good old Springbank a whole lot compared to the Longrow, Hazelburn and whatever else is produced there these days.
Marvellous malt: 8.5
Springbank NAS 46% OB CV
This one is bottled in 2010, what CV means I have no idea, only that it's a whisky without age statement. A pretty strong smell, almost like liquorice and alcohol. Seaman's Shot maybe, infused with more alcohol? This is a peppery malt, pepper, pepper and even more pepper. You could garnish a steak with this and some salt. Addition of H2O, still an extremely peppery profile, and an aftertaste that just goes on with even more pepper, an some sour notes at the very end. It's a very uninspiring malt as there's not much going on, but also hard to put the finger on any particular flaws.
A clean and fun malt, but not for the connoisseur I'd say: 5.5
Springbank 10yo 46% OB
First of all, this is far lighter than any of the other expressions I've ever tasted from this distillery, I'd say it's even lighter than the Hazelburn! The taste is very sweet, red apples, iced sugar, pears, salt water and baking soda. The aftertaste is unfortunately nowhere to be found. If tried blind I'd put money on this was a tripple distilled whisky. This is a dangerous malt, as I could easily drink far too much in one evening.
Nice and clean fruitiness: 5.5
Hazelburn 12yo 46% OB
Hazelburn is a pretty new tripple distilled whisky from the Springbank distillery. Very dark, red, sweet, sherry matured? It's sweet, delicate, with some pear, glazed fruits, honey melon and applejuice. Much of the finish is very tame, due to the tripple distillation I guess.
A very gentle Springbank: 6
Springbank 10yo 50% The Golden Cask
A bottling from "The Golden Cask", of which I'm not familiar, looks a bit like the old Signatory-labels. It's very mild, reminds me on the nose about a young Glen Scotia. The taste is also awfully nice and mild, some red onions, mild chilli and the brown parts on the slamon cutlet. The aftertaste is nicely smoked and lifts my overall impression of this malt.
A soulless springbank: 4
Longrow 10yo 57% OB
Springbanks highest peated malt at 57%abv, I've heard good rumours about this one. Last high strength Lowngrow I tried was the Gaja Barolo finish, that was a very pretentious piece of malt whisky. Perhaps this one will be better. The odors are there, earthy, smoky, oaky, vanilla and apple cores. Honest and good, no funky wood here. The taste is very peaty at first, usually the peat comes in the finish, but here's a butter, strawberry, caramel and leather aftertaste that lifts this from good to very good. An honest whisky that I believe is best when had in a bourbon cask, and not dilluted too much.
Not a shelf-display malt, but fantastic in a glass: 7.5
Longrow 7yo 2000-2008 55.8% OB CS
This one is double matured in bourbon and a last month and a half in Gaja Barolo wood. It's a very strong version. It has a very dry, strong, acidic and phenolic smell, Gaja Barolo? The taste is very dry and concentrated, do need water. Then it seems the Double maturation has paid off, as it's initially very sweet with some vanilla until the dryness takes over again.
What would this be, given more time in the cask?: 5.5
Longrow 10yo 1996-2006 46% OB
This is the peated version of Springbank I guess, the nose is more powerful and far more coastal, some liquorice. The taste is very sweet, butterscotch, creamy caramel, perfumy and woody flavours. It has a long and soothing aftertaste after the initial taste is quite peppery. To me, this doesn't need water, but I believe some will say it's a bit "put". A couple drops does enhance the liquoricy flavours, if that's to your liking.
A strong, but very persuasive malt: 7
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