Springbank 12 Years Old (57.3%)

This official Springbank single malt, a 12 year old Campbeltown malt from 1998 and bottled at 57.3%. Just 1260 bottles were filled. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery founded in 1828, prized for its rich, oily, hand made spirit. Small output and a cult following keep its bottles allocated and keenly sought.

It was floor malted, lightly peated and distilled two and a half times, the vapour cooled in worm tubs. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending vanilla and honey. By this age the maritime weight rounds into a richer, fuller malt. Long maturation suits the heavy, characterful make, the cask knitting slowly with the spirit. 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. Few distilleries keep so much of the old craft alive under one roof.

At cask strength 57.3% it is muscular. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat meet vanilla, cream and light coconut 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.