Springbank Duty Paid Sample – For Trade Purposes Only 12 Years Old 2004

This Springbank, an official release, a 12 year old from 2004, drawn from cask Rotation 573 and bottled at 57.3%. Established in 1828, Springbank is one of the last working distilleries of old Campbeltown. Production is tiny by modern standards, a fraction of a large Speyside distillery.

The spirit was given Springbank's unusual two and a half times distillation, and run into cast iron worm tubs. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the maritime malt. Around the mid teens the malt gains depth while keeping its oily salt. Sea air works into the warehouses, lending a saline thread as the whisky breathes. Kintyre's damp, mild climate suits a long and gentle maturation. The old town of Campbeltown once rivalled Speyside as Scotland's whisky heart. Quality and tradition, not volume, have always been the watchwords here. The spirit is filled to cask and matured within the distillery walls.

At a natural 57.3% it is full and oily. An oily, maritime character with light peat are layered with dried fruit, fig and walnut. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. Sea salt and fruit draw out the close. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.