Springbank 13 Years Old 1993 Cask #155 (A.D. Rattray)

This is a Springbank single malt, chosen and bottled by A.D. Rattray, a 13 year old Campbeltown malt from 1993, drawn from cask 155 and bottled at 57.3%. The outturn was 258 bottles. The Springbank distillery, in Mitchell family hands since 1828, is a byword for traditional Scotch whisky making. The whole process, malting included, is carried out by hand on the one site.

The make was run two and a half times through the stills from lightly peated malt, and slowly worm tub cooled. A sherry cask wrapped the oily spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Around the mid teens the malt gains depth while keeping its oily salt. The hands on, small scale working shapes a spirit of real individuality. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery. The open larch washbacks are a rare survival in modern Scotch. The distillery has become a place of pilgrimage for whisky enthusiasts.

At its natural 57.3% it is concentrated. A briny, oily depth with a hint of peat ride on a sherried dried fruit and nuts. It is rich and layered, the fruit and salt well matched. A long finish smoulders on salt and oil. This is a hand made Campbeltown single malt.