Springbank Longrow 21 Years Old (41.9%)

This Longrow, an official release, a 21 year old release and bottled at 41.9%. 264 bottles in all. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery run by J and A Mitchell since 1828, Campbeltown's most revered surviving distillery. Small output and a cult following keep its bottles allocated and keenly sought.

It 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. At this age it is rich and complex, the fruit folded into a waxy, briny body. Everything is done on site, the spirit going from still to cask to bottle in Campbeltown. 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. Demand far outstrips the small output, and bottles are keenly chased.

At an approachable 41.9% it is balanced. A coastal peat smoke with a briny depth are layered with a sherried dried fruit and nuts. Soft fruit and brine sit behind the cask sweetness. A long, oily, coastal finish lingers. This is a smoky, maritime Campbeltown single malt.