Springbank Longrow 1997

This Longrow, an official release, an 8 year old from 1997 and bottled at 59.9%. Just 630 bottles were filled. Established in 1828, Springbank is campbeltown's most revered surviving distillery. Bottles are released in small batches, often through ballots to meet the demand.

The spirit was distilled twice from malt kilned over plenty of peat, the vapour cooled in worm tubs. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the maritime malt. Younger here, it keeps a vigorous, briny freshness over the oily body. Everything is done on site, the spirit going from still to cask to bottle in Campbeltown. Today just three distilleries survive in the old Kintyre whisky town. The maritime warehouses by the sea lend the malt its briny, oily depth. 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.

At cask strength 59.9% it is muscular. A robust peat reek over brine are layered with dried fruit and a walnut richness. Soft fruit and brine sit behind the cask sweetness. Sea salt and fruit draw out the close. This is a smoky, maritime Campbeltown single malt.