Springbank Longrow 2007

A distillery bottling of Longrow, an 11 year old from 2007 and bottled at 56.9%. A release of 2250 bottles. Established in 1828, Springbank is famous for doing everything on site, from floor malting to bottling. The distillery sits in the heart of Campbeltown, near the head of its sea loch.

The spirit was drawn off two distillations of heavily peated malt, with the spirit condensed in worm tubs. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the maritime malt. Still young, the malt is oily and robust with a coastal lift. A patient maturation suits the rich, complex Campbeltown spirit. 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. Today just three distilleries survive in the old Kintyre whisky town. The maritime warehouses by the sea lend the malt its briny, oily depth.

Undiluted at 56.9%, it is intense. A robust peat reek over brine sit over a sherried dried fruit and nuts. A waxy weight and a saline tang give it real body. Salt and oily fruit see out a long finish. This is the peated face of Campbeltown.