Springbank Private Bottling 21 Years Old 2000

This Springbank, an official release, aged 21 year old from 2000, drawn from cask 655 and bottled at 43%. Only 252 bottles were released. Springbank, founded in 1828 in Campbeltown, is one of the last working distilleries of old Campbeltown. Uniquely in Scotch, every drop is floor malted, distilled, matured and bottled on the one site.

This was distilled the Springbank way, two and a half times from floor malted barley, and run into cast iron 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. Sea air works into the warehouses, lending a saline thread as the whisky breathes. 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.

Reduced to 43%, it is mellow. An oily, maritime character with light peat are layered with dried fruit and a walnut richness. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. The close is rich, fruit over a saline depth. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.