Springbank 23 Years Old 1993 Masterpieces (Elixir)

This Springbank was from the independent bottler Elixir Distillers, a 23 year old release from 1993 and bottled at 52.2%. A release of 339 bottles. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery run by J and A Mitchell since 1828, a survivor of Campbeltown's great whisky era. Concerto barley is malted on the floors and kilned in the distillery's own kiln.

It was distilled two and a half times from lightly peated, floor malted malt, then cooled slowly in worm tubs. A sherry cask wrapped the oily spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Past twenty years the spirit turns waxy and profound while keeping its character. Refill oak lets the distillery character lead, all oily weight and coastal salt. 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.

At 52.2%, undiluted, it is deep and powerful. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat sit over a sherried dried fruit and nuts. The texture is rich and oily, the salt threaded through. The finish is long, waxy and briny. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.