Springbank Longrow 15 Years Old

This Longrow, an official release, a 15 year old release and bottled at 51.4%. The outturn was 9400 bottles. Springbank has distilled in Campbeltown since 1828, the most traditional distillery in Scotch, malting all its own barley. Bottles are released in small batches, often through ballots to meet the demand.

It was distilled twice from malt kilned over plenty of peat, the vapour cooled in worm tubs. A wine cask shaped it, the fruit and tannin meeting the oily spirit. Mid age brings a fuller fruit and a deeper coastal complexity. Worm tub condensing and an oil fired wash still build the rich, oily texture the distillery is known for. Demand far outstrips the small output, and bottles are keenly chased. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery. The open larch washbacks are a rare survival in modern Scotch. The distillery has become a place of pilgrimage for whisky enthusiasts.

At its natural 51.4% it is concentrated. Berry fruit and a tannic spice from the cask underpins a tarry, maritime smoke. Soft fruit and brine sit behind the cask sweetness. It finishes deep, complex and maritime. This is a robust, smoky Campbeltown whisky.