Springbank 25 Years Old

This Springbank, an official release, a 25 year old Campbeltown malt and bottled at 46%. Just 1400 bottles were filled. The Springbank distillery, established in 1828, is run much as it was a century ago. The cult around Springbank has made it one of the most collected of all malts.

The make was distilled two and a half times from lightly peated, floor malted malt, then condensed through 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. 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. Demand far outstrips the small output, and bottles are keenly chased. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery.

At 46% it is clean and characterful. Dried fruit and a vanilla oak from the cask underpins oily orchard fruit, salt and a wisp of peat. A coastal salt and an orchard fruit lift it. It closes long, oily and salty. This is an oily, salty Campbeltown classic.