Springbank 11 Years Old

A distillery bottling of Springbank, an 11 year old Campbeltown malt from 2011 and bottled at 55.1%. The outturn was 15000 bottles. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery run by J and A Mitchell since 1828, a survivor of Campbeltown's great whisky era. Each bottling is filled and labelled in Campbeltown rather than shipped away.

It was distilled around two and a half times from floor malted, lightly peated barley, then cooled slowly 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. Refill oak lets the distillery character lead, all oily weight and coastal salt. Today just three distilleries survive in the old Kintyre whisky town. 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.

At a natural 55.1% it is full and oily. Brine, wax and a light peat note sit over dried fruit and a vanilla oak. The texture is rich and oily, the salt threaded through. The finish is long, waxy and briny. This is a complex, coastal Campbeltown whisky.