Springbank Longrow 17 Years Old

A distillery bottling of Longrow, a 17 year old Campbeltown malt from 2002 and bottled at 49.7%. 282 bottles in all. Springbank, run by J and A Mitchell since 1828 in Campbeltown, is a family distillery that malts and bottles every drop on site. Campbeltown was its own protected whisky region long before the revival.

This was distilled twice from barley floor malted and peated hard, and slowly worm tub cooled. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the maritime malt. Around the mid teens the malt gains depth while keeping its oily salt. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the oily, complex core over time. A 1940s Porteus mill and an open iron mash tun are part of the old setup. 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 cask strength 49.7% it is muscular. A sherried dried fruit and nuts meets heavy smoke over brine and wax. It is rich and layered, the fruit and salt well matched. A warming, oily finish lingers long. This is Springbank's heavily peated Longrow.