Springbank 21 Years Old (46%)

This Springbank, an official release, aged 21 year old and bottled at 46%. Only 59 bottles were released. Springbank, run by J and A Mitchell since 1828 in Campbeltown, is run much as it was a century ago. Production is tiny by modern standards, a fraction of a large Speyside distillery.

This was distilled the Springbank way, two and a half times from floor malted barley, and run into cast iron worm tubs. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla under the oily fruit. Past twenty years the spirit turns waxy and profound while keeping its character. Years in oak deepen the fruit and the maritime character together. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery. The open larch washbacks are a rare survival in modern Scotch. The distillery has become a place of pilgrimage for whisky enthusiasts. Kintyre's damp, mild climate suits a long and gentle maturation.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. Vanilla, honey and coconut from the cask underpins oily orchard fruit, salt and a wisp of peat. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. The close is rich, fruit over a saline depth. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.