Springbank Private Bottling 28 Years Old 1974

This Springbank, an official release, a 28 year old Campbeltown malt from 1974, drawn from cask 1777 and bottled at 46%. Only 246 bottles were released. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery run by J and A Mitchell since 1828, one of the last working distilleries of old Campbeltown. Production is tiny by modern standards, a fraction of a large Speyside distillery.

It was floor malted, lightly peated and distilled two and a half times, and run into cast iron worm tubs. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. Beyond twenty years the malt grows waxy and deep, tropical fruit and salt over an oily base. Sea air works into the warehouses, lending a saline thread as the whisky breathes. The old town of Campbeltown once rivalled Speyside as Scotland's whisky heart. Quality and tradition, not volume, have always been the watchwords here.

At 46% it is soft, oily and coastal. An oily, maritime character with light peat are layered with vanilla, cream and light coconut. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. A long, oily, coastal finish lingers. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.