Springbank 15 Years Old (46%)

A distillery bottling of Springbank, a 15 year old release and bottled at 46%. Springbank, run by J and A Mitchell since 1828 in Campbeltown, is one of only three distilleries left in Campbeltown. Water comes from Crosshill Loch, the barley malted on the distillery's own floors.

This was run through the distillery's part triple distillation, the malt floor malted and gently peated, and worm tub cooled in the old way. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending vanilla and honey. Around the mid teens the malt gains depth while keeping its oily salt. The oily, robust make carries cask flavour while holding its own character. Few distilleries keep so much of the old craft alive under one roof. Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world, with more than thirty distilleries at its peak. Today just three distilleries survive in the old Kintyre whisky town. The maritime warehouses by the sea lend the malt its briny, oily depth.

At an approachable 46% it is balanced. Creamy vanilla and oak sweetness meets a salty, waxy depth with a whisper of peat. The mouthfeel is oily, the fruit carried on a salty body. A warming, oily finish lingers long. This is the most traditional malt in Scotch.