Springbank is a distillery which has gotten a lot of recognition the last couple of decades, primarily due to very good older bottlings, but also because of their old style production and it is the closest to a family-owned Distillery in Scotland today, apart from Glenfarclas of course. Opened in 1828, as the 14th campbeltown distillery, it is now the only one left of them. But only 4 years later, in 1832 Glen Scotia Distillery was established, and very recent the Glengyle Distillery also saw the light of day. But by these three Springbank is by far the most renowned of them, even one of the most renowned distilleries in all of Scotland, even though its producing only 750.000 litres a year. On a personal note, I am maybe not as big a fan of this Distillery as everyone else is, but then again, I have mostly tried newer bottlings, so today I'll do a more thorough tasting.
Springbank NAS 46% OB CV 1997
This one has a white top and old style cream label, it was bottled in 1997, the year the distillery started producing this NAS whisky called CV. It becomes hazy once it hits the glass. Golden color. Smells rich and peppery, leather, bonfire, hay, smoky, I do like it! The taste is sweet, nutty, rich, honeyed, some floral notes, a real treat! Caramel, dark chocolate, cod liver, cinnamon buns, iodine, smoke again. This extreme sweetness could very well overpower the rest of this whisky, but the smoky, iodine peaty stuff in the end makes it a great whisky on all levels. And balances it out perfectly.
Extremely good whisky, and affordable, a dream come through: 8.5
Springbank 15yo 46% OB
I do not know when this bottle was issued, but its certainly as old a vintage as the CV, and has a similar old style label. Some evaporation, I hope won't take the edge off. Also very pale color, not like the darker more recent 15yo's. The color is light orange, just a bit darker than the CV. It smells peppery and more spirity than the CV. peaty as well, perhaps some ginger and root beer. The taste is sweet and peppery, some burnt sugar, ripe plums, opens up more and more and is starting getting interesting. Some spices, cress and chervil follows on the rather short finish.
The palate was superb, the rest a small disappointment: 6.5
Springbank 17yo 46% Cadenhead's
I only have a miniature of this sone, one of them slimmer miniatures from Cadenhead's that was used for a short while back in the 80's. I think there is 4 instead of 5cl in these miniatures, and the measuring points on my whiskyglass confirms my suspicion. The color on this one is like white wine. It smells sweet, vanilla, bananas, peppery, creamy, ginger, lilac. Very sweet and light, Hard to recognize any peaty notes in this one. The taste is thick and sweet, loads and loads of banana and vanilla, and sort of a creamy texture, this is a sweet dessert on its own, after a good meal. And you don't become too full. Once again I'm very impressed by this old Springbank style, but this one, unfortunately, lacks the peaty edge to get some balance, and it all becomes just a bit too sweet.
Sweet: 6.5
Springbank 26yo 1969-1995 51.7% Signatory Vintage btl.242/1250
There is no cask reference number on this bottle, but it's stated on the label that it comes from "sherry cask". Light brown/orange hue. It smells cinnamon, coastal breeze, floral, juniper berries jam, fried bacon, thyme, rosemary, cress, herbal. The taste is big on grapefruit, oranges, ginger, oloroso sherry, almonds, orange marmalade, plums, dark grapes, this could very well be one of my best ever Springbanks! The aftertaste is long, peppery, honey, just keeps on going between strong peppery and sweet'n'honeyed. Additional water just makes it sweet like a caramel bar.
I can now understand what the fuzz was all about: 9.5
Springbank 12yo 54.6% OB 2010
A very recent 12yo, time to taste it against some older versions, though not by age of maturation necessarily. Remember the winner thus far being a NAS-version. Deep golden color. It smells rich and creamy, some porridge and rubber. Very simple compared to the other ones so far. The taste is thick, almost like white grape juice, dry white wine, schweppes lemon, honey, nectarine. A very simple and sweet whisky, but then agin, one that will never disappoint I think. Reminds me a bit of the Cadenhead's but it lacks that extreme notion of bourbon influence. I have seen other distilleries doing young standards at CS, Highland Park and Glenmorangie amongst others.
A very potent 12yo: 7
Springbank 19yo 1991-2011 56.1% Murray McDavid
From a refill sherry butt, I remember a Lochside I had a while back, from MM and from a refill sherry butt, and it was a very good one indeed. I have always had mixed feelings about ths IB, as there is hard to tell a bottling apart from another, some are watered down from several casks at young strength, and some are 40+ years old, CS and from a single cask, and one cannot tell them apart without looking closely and knowing what to look for. But they do know how to choose a good cask! Very light colored, similar to the Cadenhead's. It smells spirity, lemons, cauliflower, lemon again and ginger. The taste is very bitter and sour, lemon notes, a long-lasting bitterness on the finish ends this rather boring whisky.
The big down so far in this tasting: 3
Springbank 12yo 59.8% James MacArthur's cask#226
Probabaly a late 80's or early 90's bottling, which makes it a special one indeed. And at this strength it should be a cracker. Anyway, its hard not to compare it to the 2010 OB, could this one make it to 8+, or even above? This one ha a dark brown color, most probably from a sherry cask. It smells rich, sulphury, cinnamon, rubber, extremely sherried, fresh cider, almost reminds me of some of the heavies Aberlous A'bunadhs. The taste is so thick and sherried that it'll ever get. rich honey, rich cinnamon, sulphur, almond cake, dark grapes, oloroso sherry(!!!), custard, oranges. The finish is of pepper, sherry and tomatoes, and just keeps going on forever.
I knew I'd find gold in one of the classic whiskies: 10
Springbank 8yo 1984-1994 61.1% Cadenhead's
A young one from Cadenhead's, not often they do that, but other IB's such as Signatory and James Macarthur's have made it work. Often even better than many of the old, stale and oaky ones that are being thrown onto the market by IB's these days. By no means, many of them are excellent, but not all of them, although the prices they charge might suggest so. Golden orange color. It smells... wow, totally different, soapy, bitter, bitter herbs, agricultures, I cannot understand how this one could ever be even considered a SC CS IB. The taste is sweet, dried fruits, rich, dark chocolate, bubble gum, olives, synthetic fruit gums, a small disappointment on the finish, and a big disappointment on the nosing, but once again the palate saves Springbank.
For an 8yo, excellent, and it is a good whisky without a doubt: 6.5
Next tasting: #3 Classic Malts
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