I have very little experience with Springbanks peatier version Longrow, remember Springbank is peated too but not nearly as much. So why not have one amongst the standard Springbanks in this session, just for comparison. The Blackadder Raw Cask in the picture is kept for another occasion.
Springbank 12yo 2003 46% OB 175th anniversary
Bottled in 2003 to celebrate the distilleries 175th anniversary, lets hope it lived up to that task. The color is light hazel. It smells peppery, peaty, waxy, grainy, grassy, perfumy. A lot going on here. The taste is light and burnt, charcoal and tea? Some bourbon notes and whiffs of oak. An enjoyable whisky where the nosing was the star.
I'm looking forward to see what they come up with in 2028: 5
Springbank 12yo 46% OB
This is an older OB, the current one is 10yo. I'll be trying that afterwards. The color on this one is like white wine, very light. It smells peat, sandstone, flinty, ashes, herbal, salty, smoked bacon, more peat, lots of old style here, great stuff. The taste is herbal, vanilla, baking powder, vanilla crust, apple pie, very light and fragrant. Nutty aromas as well as oranges and red wine comes to show after a while, but I still feel this also has a nose that promised more than the palate was able to deliver.
Great stuff: 6
Springbank 10yo 46% OB
The current OB, I've heard good stuff about it. It says nothing about coloring or chill-filtration on the label but I'm assuming there's none. honey golden color. It smells very herbal, grassy, ginger, orange zest, honey, paint thinner, perfumy. The taste is wheaty, drying, less peat and more oak and cinnamon this time. The finish is peppery, oregano and rather short.
I think the 12yo just got a slight edge on this newer version: 5.5
Springbank 10yo 2000-2012 47% OB for the Nectar Belgium cask#267-274
Another 10yo at about the same strength, should it taste the same? A mix of different casks, which I mean could be just as good as any single cask, see the old G&M Cask-series for example. The color is dark golden. It smells rich, spicy, cardamum, cinnamon, orange liqueur, wheat, barley, nuts, oaky, musty, again great nose. The taste is sherried, no doubt. Seems a that some of these casks might've been amontillado casks, as it has the sweet drying and not very distinguished taste. Nutty, cinnamon, dried herbs, dried grass, cardboard, a whisky that perhaps needs some water? Now it turns lighter, easier, more vanilla and jam, but definitively not more interesting.
MOTR: 5
Springbank 14yo 1998-2012 51.5% Malts of Scotland cask#12014
The first and only CS in this session, and down to 51.5% after just 14 years tells me of a cask that's nearly leaking. But then again, I once had a great 16yo Dailuaine CS at only 46.7%. Really, in theory at least, only those that question the strength at CS are those about to get drunk. The color is golden. It smells honeyed, warming spices, marzipan, toast, fried onions, a modest nose, not like the ones before in this tasting. The taste is peppery and drying, some light notes of honey and cigar, but all in all it lacks a certain complexity, lets add water! Now it turns lighter, more oaky notes, some burnt milk and butter notes.
MoS, usually you're great, but I think this was a mistake: 2.5
Longrow NAS 1987 43% OB for Kirsch Import Germany cask#119 btl. 230/600
When I forst was going to add this to the session I thought that peat would kill of strength in a tastebud combat, but then again I see many tasters going from low to high strength without concerning about the ppm level. So this whisky could just be a dart throw in the dark, but I hope my ideas about peat and strength will serve me right. So, a Longrow has a peat level of 50-55ppm, whilst a Springbank carries 12-15ppm. Even the most feared Islay malts usually carries lower ppm levels than this in their standard malts. The color is close to water, quite blank. It smells peaty, strong, phenolic peat, burnt, gasoline, engine oil, licorice, straw, a peat-monster for sure. The taste is mild, gentle, sweet... before the peat shows up, grainy, salty, pear, smoke, cigar, cinnamon, oranges, coal, but no aftertaste. A very short whisky experience. Too young, too light? Who knows.
I never quite got the hang of this one: 5.5
Next tasting: Ardmore Distillery
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