Springbank 20 Years Old

This Springbank, an official release, a 20 year old Campbeltown malt from 1995 and bottled at 54.2%. 192 bottles in all. The Springbank distillery, in Mitchell family hands since 1828, is still owned by the Mitchell family, five generations on. The cult around Springbank has made it one of the most collected of all malts.

The make was distilled two and a half times from lightly peated, floor malted malt, then condensed through worm tubs. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. Beyond twenty years the malt grows waxy and deep, tropical fruit and salt over an oily base. Coastal warehousing gives the malt its briny, mineral lift. The maritime warehouses by the sea lend the malt its briny, oily depth. 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.

At 54.2%, undiluted, it is deep and powerful. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat meet dried fruit and a walnut richness from the cask. A coastal salt and an orchard fruit lift it. It closes long, oily and salty. This is an oily, salty Campbeltown classic.