Springbank Longrow 1974 Cask #1550

This Longrow, an official release matured to 21 year old from 1974, drawn from cask 1550 and bottled at 46%. 350 bottles in all. Springbank has distilled in Campbeltown since 1828, Campbeltown's most revered surviving distillery. The distillery champions the old, slow, labour intensive way of making whisky.

It was run twice through the stills from heavily peated malt, and condensed in traditional worm tubs. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla under the oily fruit. Past twenty years the spirit turns waxy and profound while keeping its character. Everything is done on site, the spirit going from still to cask to bottle in Campbeltown. The spirit is filled to cask and matured within the distillery walls. Few distilleries keep so much of the old craft alive under one roof. Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world, with more than thirty distilleries at its peak.

At 46% it is clean and characterful. A tarry, maritime smoke are layered with a vanilla and toffee sweetness. Beneath it run oily fruit, salt and a coastal depth. It finishes deep, complex and maritime. This is a smoky, maritime Campbeltown single malt.