Springbank 16 Years Old (54.3%)

A distillery bottling of Springbank, aged 16 year old from 1999 and bottled at 54.3%. Just 9000 bottles were filled. Springbank has distilled in Campbeltown since 1828, one of only three distilleries left in Campbeltown. Each bottling is filled and labelled in Campbeltown rather than shipped away.

It was made by Springbank's singular two and a half times distillation, then cooled slowly in worm tubs. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that lets the make lead. Around the mid teens the malt gains depth while keeping its oily salt. The oily, robust make carries cask flavour while holding its own character. 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. A 1940s Porteus mill and an open iron mash tun are part of the old setup.

Undiluted at 54.3%, it is intense. A vanilla and toffee sweetness meets a salty, waxy depth with a whisper of peat. The texture is rich and oily, the salt threaded through. The finish runs deep, briny and warm. This is a complex, coastal Campbeltown whisky.