Springbank 24 Years Old 1994 (Authentic Collection)

Cadenhead's bottled this Springbank, aged 24 year old from 1994 and bottled at 50.8%. Only 312 bottles were released. Springbank, distilling since 1828 in Campbeltown, 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.

This was distilled around two and a half times from floor malted, lightly peated barley, then condensed through worm tubs. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the spirit. Beyond twenty years the malt grows waxy and deep, tropical fruit and salt over an oily base. Everything is done on site, the spirit going from still to cask to bottle in Campbeltown. 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.

Bottled at a cask strength 50.8%, it is rich. A salty, waxy depth with a whisper of peat meet a vanilla and toffee sweetness from the cask. Soft fruit and brine sit behind the cask sweetness. A long, oily, coastal finish lingers. This is a hand made Campbeltown single malt.