Springbank Private Edition 15 Years Old 1998

An official Springbank single malt matured to 15 year old from 1998, drawn from cask 103-98 and bottled at 51.6%. Only 155 bottles were released. The Springbank distillery, in Mitchell family hands since 1828, is a byword for traditional Scotch whisky making. Campbeltown was its own protected whisky region long before the revival.

The make was run two and a half times through the stills from lightly peated malt, and slowly worm tub cooled. A sherry cask wrapped the oily spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Mid age brings a fuller fruit and a deeper coastal complexity. The hands on, small scale working shapes a spirit of real individuality. The old town of Campbeltown once rivalled Speyside as Scotland's whisky heart. Quality and tradition, not volume, have always been the watchwords here. The spirit is filled to cask and matured within the distillery walls. Few distilleries keep so much of the old craft alive under one roof.

At a hearty 51.6% it carries real weight. A briny, oily depth with a hint of peat ride on dried fruit, fig and walnut. It is rich and layered, the fruit and salt well matched. A long finish smoulders on salt and oil. This is a hand made Campbeltown single malt.