Springbank 10 Years Old (MoM)

Master of Malt bottled this Springbank, a 10 year old, drawn from cask 578 and bottled at 57.2%. The Springbank distillery, in Mitchell family hands since 1828, is still owned by the Mitchell family, five generations on. Production is tiny by modern standards, a fraction of a large Speyside distillery.

The make was distilled two and a half times from lightly peated, floor malted malt, and run into cast iron worm tubs. Ex-Sherry wood suited the heavy make, adding a dried fruit richness. Younger here, it keeps a vigorous, briny freshness over the oily body. Coastal warehousing gives the malt its briny, mineral lift. 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. 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.

At 57.2%, undiluted, it is deep and powerful. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat meet a sherried dried fruit and nuts from the cask. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. It closes long, oily and salty. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.