Springbank 38 Years Old 1968 Cask #616 (Ian Macleod)

From Ian Macleod comes this Springbank, a 38 year old release from 1968, drawn from cask 616 and bottled at 43%. Just 192 bottles were filled. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery distilling since 1828, run much as it was a century ago. Uniquely in Scotch, every drop is floor malted, distilled, matured and bottled on the one site.

It was run two and a half times through the stills from lightly peated malt, and run into cast iron worm tubs. A sherry cask wrapped the oily spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Very old Campbeltown make turns profound, oily and tropical with a coastal salt. The hands on, small scale working shapes a spirit of real individuality. Demand far outstrips the small output, and bottles are keenly chased. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery. The open larch washbacks are a rare survival in modern Scotch.

Reduced to 43%, it is mellow. A sherried dried fruit and nuts from the cask underpins brine, wax and a light peat note. A waxy weight and a saline tang give it real body. Salt and oily fruit see out a long finish. This is Springbank's rich, oily, maritime style.