Springbank 18 Years Old 1996 Cask #DL 10737 (Old Particular)

Douglas Laing selected this Springbank, aged 18 year old from 1996, drawn from cask DL 10737 and bottled at 48.4%. The outturn was 360 bottles. Springbank, distilling since 1828 in Campbeltown, is prized for its rich, oily, hand made spirit. Bottles are released in small batches, often through ballots to meet the demand.

This was distilled around two and a half times from floor malted, lightly peated barley, the vapour cooled in worm tubs. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the spirit. Past a decade the oily spirit deepens, fruit and salt knitting with the oak. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the oily, complex core over time. Demand far outstrips the small output, and bottles are keenly chased. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery. The open larch washbacks are a rare survival in modern Scotch.

Bottled at a cask strength 48.4%, it is rich. A salty, waxy depth with a whisper of peat meet creamy vanilla and oak sweetness from the cask. A waxy weight and a saline tang give it real body. Salt and oily fruit see out a long finish. This is the most traditional malt in Scotch.