Springbank Private Bottling 11 Years Old 1997

This official Springbank single malt matured to 11 year old from 1997, drawn from cask 295 and bottled at 56.9%. The outturn was 267 bottles. The Springbank distillery, in Mitchell family hands since 1828, is prized for its rich, oily, hand made spirit. The distillery champions the old, slow, labour intensive way of making whisky.

The make was distilled two and a half times from lightly peated, floor malted malt, and condensed in traditional worm tubs. Ex-Sherry wood suited the heavy make, adding a dried fruit richness. Still young, the malt is oily and robust with a coastal lift. Long maturation suits the heavy, characterful make, the cask knitting slowly with the spirit. 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 its natural 56.9% it is concentrated. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat meet dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath it run oily fruit, salt and a coastal depth. It closes long, oily and salty. This is the flagship malt of old Campbeltown.