Springbank 25 Years Old (46%)

This Springbank, an official release, a 25 year old and bottled at 46%. Just 1400 bottles were filled. In Mitchell family hands since 1828, Springbank is run much as it was a century ago. Uniquely in Scotch, every drop is floor malted, distilled, matured and bottled on the one site.

The spirit was given Springbank's unusual two and a half times distillation, and run into cast iron worm tubs. Ex-Sherry wood suited the heavy make, adding a dried fruit richness. Past twenty years the spirit turns waxy and profound while keeping its character. Years in oak deepen the fruit and the maritime character together. Demand far outstrips the small output, and bottles are keenly chased. 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.

At an approachable 46% it is balanced. Dried fruit and a vanilla oak from the cask underpins oily orchard fruit, salt and a wisp of peat. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. Sea salt and fruit draw out the close. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.