Springbank Private Bottling 8 Years Old 1999

This Springbank, an official release, an 8 year old from 1999, drawn from cask 89 and bottled at 54.9%. 72 bottles in all. Springbank is a Campbeltown distillery run by J and A Mitchell since 1828, one of the last working distilleries of old Campbeltown. It makes three malts: Springbank, the peated Longrow and the unpeated Hazelburn.

It was floor malted, lightly peated and distilled two and a half times, then condensed through worm tubs. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the maritime malt. Still young, the malt is oily and robust with a coastal lift. Sea air works into the warehouses, lending a saline thread as the whisky breathes. 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. Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn each show a different face of the one distillery.

At 54.9%, undiluted, it is deep and powerful. An oily, maritime character with light peat are layered with a sherried dried fruit and nuts. A coastal salt and an orchard fruit lift it. A long, oily, coastal finish lingers. This is an oily, salty Campbeltown classic.