Springbank 26 Years Old 1997 (Authentic Collection)

A Springbank single malt, selected and bottled by Cadenhead's matured to 26 year old from 1997 and bottled at 56.7%. 219 bottles in all. Springbank has distilled in Campbeltown since 1828, the most traditional distillery in Scotch, malting all its own barley. The distillery champions the old, slow, labour intensive way of making whisky.

It was run through the distillery's part triple distillation, the malt floor malted and gently peated, and condensed in traditional worm tubs. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, with vanilla under the oily fruit. At this age it is rich and complex, the fruit folded into a waxy, briny body. Coastal warehousing gives the malt its briny, mineral lift. 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 a hearty 56.7% it carries real weight. Creamy vanilla and oak sweetness from the cask underpins brine, wax and a light peat note. A coastal salt and an orchard fruit lift it. The close is rich, fruit over a saline depth. This is a complex, coastal Campbeltown whisky.