Springbank 21 Years Old (46% 2020)

A distillery bottling of Springbank, a 21 year old release and bottled at 46%. Just 3300 bottles were filled. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery distilling since 1828, one of only three distilleries left in Campbeltown. Little has changed in the way the spirit is made for the best part of a century.

It was distilled around two and a half times from floor malted, lightly peated barley, and worm tub cooled in the old way. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. Long ageing brings an oily depth, candied fruit and a mellow coastal salt. The oily, robust make carries cask flavour while holding its own character. 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 46% it is soft, oily and coastal. Raisin, fig and a vanilla sweetness meets a salty, waxy depth with a whisper of peat. The mouthfeel is oily, the fruit carried on a salty body. The finish is long, waxy and briny. This is the most traditional malt in Scotch.