Springbank 30 Years Old 1973 Cask #52 – 55 (Ian Macleod)

Bottled by Ian Macleod, this Springbank, a 30 year old Campbeltown malt from 1973, drawn from cask 52 - 55 and bottled at 40%. A release of 600 bottles. The Springbank distillery, established in 1828, is one of only three distilleries left in Campbeltown. Water comes from Crosshill Loch, the barley malted on the distillery's own floors.

The make was given Springbank's unusual two and a half times distillation, and worm tub cooled in the old way. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the spirit. Decades leave it waxy and oxidative, candied fruit and brine with great depth. Coastal warehousing gives the malt its briny, mineral lift. Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world, with more than thirty distilleries at its peak. Today just three distilleries survive in the old Kintyre whisky town. The maritime warehouses by the sea lend the malt its briny, oily depth.

At 40% it is clean and characterful. Vanilla, cream and light coconut meets an oily, maritime character with light peat. A coastal salt and an orchard fruit lift it. It finishes deep, complex and maritime. This is an oily, salty Campbeltown classic.