Springbank 12 Years Old (43%)

This Springbank, an official release, aged 12 year old and bottled at 43%. Springbank has distilled in Campbeltown since 1828, one of the last working distilleries of old Campbeltown. Production is tiny by modern standards, a fraction of a large Speyside distillery.

It was given the part triple distillation unique to Springbank, and run into cast iron worm tubs. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the spirit. Mid age brings a fuller fruit and a deeper coastal complexity. Sea air works into the warehouses, lending a saline thread as the whisky breathes. 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. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery.

At an approachable 43% it is balanced. An oily, maritime character with light peat are layered with vanilla, cream and light coconut. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. It finishes deep, complex and maritime. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.