Springbank Private Bottling 21 Years Old 2000 (46.8%)

This Springbank, an official release, a 21 year old from 2000, drawn from cask 683 and bottled at 46.8%. In Mitchell family hands since 1828, Springbank is run much as it was a century ago. It makes three malts: Springbank, the peated Longrow and the unpeated Hazelburn.

The spirit was given Springbank's unusual two and a half times distillation, then condensed through worm tubs. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending vanilla and honey. Past twenty years the spirit turns waxy and profound while keeping its character. Years in oak deepen the fruit and the maritime character together. Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world, with more than thirty distilleries at its peak. 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.

At a full 46.8% it is bold and oily. Creamy vanilla and oak sweetness from the cask underpins oily orchard fruit, salt and a wisp of peat. A coastal salt and an orchard fruit lift it. Sea salt and fruit draw out the close. This is an oily, salty Campbeltown classic.