Springbank Longrow 2005

This Longrow, an official release, a 13 year old Campbeltown malt from 2005 and bottled at 58.7%. Only 1096 bottles were released. The Springbank distillery, a family distillery since 1828, is campbeltown's most revered surviving distillery. Hedley Wright's family has kept the distillery independent for the best part of two centuries.

The make was run twice through the stills from heavily peated malt, and condensed in traditional worm tubs. Maturation in a fortified wine cask lent red and dark fruit. Around the mid teens the malt gains depth while keeping its oily salt. Everything is done on site, the spirit going from still to cask to bottle in Campbeltown. The maritime warehouses by the sea lend the malt its briny, oily depth. A 1940s Porteus mill and an open iron mash tun are part of the old setup. The Mitchell family has held the distillery for five generations. The town and the sea run through every cask of the make.

At 58.7%, undiluted, it is deep and powerful. Smoke, tar and an oily maritime depth are layered with plum and red berry. Beneath it run oily fruit, salt and a coastal depth. It closes long, oily and salty. This is a smoky, maritime Campbeltown single malt.