Springbank Society Bottling 15 Years Old 2000

An official Springbank single malt, a 15 year old Campbeltown malt from 2000 and bottled at 51.2%. A release of 228 bottles. The Springbank distillery, established in 1828, is a family distillery that malts and bottles every drop on site. The family owner also holds Cadenhead's, the oldest independent bottler in Scotland.

The make was run two and a half times through the stills from lightly peated malt, with the spirit condensed in worm tubs. A Rum cask shaped it, lending brown sugar and a tropical lift. By this age the maritime weight rounds into a richer, fuller malt. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the oily, complex core over time. The Mitchell family has held the distillery for five generations. The town and the sea run through every cask of the make. The sea loch at the foot of the town shapes the coastal character of the malt. Demand far outstrips the small output, and bottles are keenly chased.

Undiluted at 51.2%, it is intense. Brown sugar and a rum sweetness meets a salty, waxy depth with a whisper of peat. A waxy weight and a saline tang give it real body. A long finish smoulders on salt and oil. This is Springbank's rich, oily, maritime style.