Springbank 1997 Madeira

This official Springbank single malt, an 11 year old from 1997 and bottled at 55.1%. The outturn was 9090 bottles. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery founded in 1828, prized for its rich, oily, hand made spirit. Bottles are released in small batches, often through ballots to meet the demand.

It was floor malted, lightly peated and distilled two and a half times, the vapour cooled in worm tubs. A wine cask gave a fruity, spiced depth to the make. At this age the spirit is vivid and oily, the fruit and salt to the fore. Long maturation suits the heavy, characterful make, the cask knitting slowly with the spirit. 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.

At a natural 55.1% it is full and oily. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat meet raisin and a caramelised nuttiness from the cask. Soft fruit and brine sit behind the cask sweetness. A long, oily, coastal finish lingers. This is a revered Campbeltown single malt.