Springbank 27 Years Old 1974 Cask #2381 (Ian Macleod)

Ian Macleod selected this Springbank, a 27 year old release from 1974, drawn from cask 2381 and bottled at 56.6%. Just 275 bottles were filled. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery founded in 1828, prized for its rich, oily, hand made spirit. Bottles are released in small batches, often through ballots to meet the demand.

It was run two and a half times through the stills from lightly peated malt, the vapour cooled in worm tubs. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak that lets the make lead. Beyond twenty years the malt grows waxy and deep, tropical fruit and salt over an oily base. Refill oak lets the distillery character lead, all oily weight and coastal salt. The Mitchell family has held the distillery for five generations. 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.

At a natural 56.6% it is full and oily. A salty, waxy depth with a whisper of peat meet a vanilla and toffee sweetness from the cask. The mouthfeel is oily, the fruit carried on a salty body. Salt and oily fruit see out a long finish. This is the most traditional malt in Scotch.