Springbank 20 Years Old 1998 Savannah Series (Antique Lions of Spirits)

This Springbank was from the independent bottler Antique Lions of Spirits, a 20 year old Campbeltown malt from 1998 and bottled at 48%. 243 bottles in all. The Springbank distillery, a family distillery since 1828, is a survivor of Campbeltown's great whisky era. Each bottling is filled and labelled in Campbeltown rather than shipped away.

The make was distilled the Springbank way, two and a half times from floor malted barley, then cooled slowly in worm tubs. Ex-Sherry wood suited the heavy make, adding a dried fruit richness. Beyond twenty years the malt grows waxy and deep, tropical fruit and salt over an oily base. Long maturation suits the heavy, characterful make, the cask knitting slowly with the spirit. Kintyre's damp, mild climate suits a long and gentle maturation. The old town of Campbeltown once rivalled Speyside as Scotland's whisky heart. Quality and tradition, not volume, have always been the watchwords here.

At a hearty 48% it carries real weight. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat sit over a sherried dried fruit and nuts. Beneath it run oily fruit, salt and a coastal depth. The close is rich, fruit over a saline depth. This is the flagship malt of old Campbeltown.