Springbank 14 Years Old (56.8%)

This Springbank, an official release, aged 14 year old from 2003 and bottled at 56.8%. Only 198 bottles were released. Springbank has distilled in Campbeltown since 1828, run much as it was a century ago. Uniquely in Scotch, every drop is floor malted, distilled, matured and bottled on the one site.

It was given the part triple distillation unique to Springbank, and run into cast iron worm tubs. A Rum cask shaped it, lending brown sugar and a tropical lift. Mid age brings a fuller fruit and a deeper coastal complexity. Years in oak deepen the fruit and the maritime character together. 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 a full 56.8% it is bold and oily. Brown sugar, banana and a tropical lift from the cask underpins oily orchard fruit, salt and a wisp of peat. 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.