Springbank 32 Years Old 1992 Cask #DL 18281 (XOP)

From Douglas Laing comes this Springbank, a 32 year old release from 1992, drawn from cask DL 18281 and bottled at 46.3%. 176 bottles in all. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery run by J and A Mitchell since 1828, one of the last working distilleries of old Campbeltown. Production is tiny by modern standards, a fraction of a large Speyside distillery.

It was run two and a half times through the stills from lightly peated malt, and run into cast iron worm tubs. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending vanilla and honey. At this great age the malt is full and waxy, the fruit deep and the salt mellow. The cool, damp Campbeltown air by the sea gives a slow, even maturation. 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 46.3% it is soft, oily and coastal. A briny, oily depth with a hint of peat are layered with vanilla, cream and light coconut. The texture is rich and oily, the salt threaded through. The finish runs deep, briny and warm. This is Springbank's rich, oily, maritime style.