Springbank Private Selection 21 Years Old 1997

An official Springbank single malt, aged 21 year old from 1997, drawn from cask 294 and bottled at 57.7%. 212 bottles in all. A family distillery since 1828, Springbank is a byword for traditional Scotch whisky making. The family owner also holds Cadenhead's, the oldest independent bottler in Scotland.

The spirit was drawn off after two and a half distillations of gently peated malt, with the spirit condensed in worm tubs. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the maritime malt. Beyond twenty years the malt grows waxy and deep, tropical fruit and salt over an oily base. The hands on, small scale working shapes a spirit of real individuality. 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.

At a full 57.7% it is bold and oily. A briny, oily depth with a hint of peat ride on a sherried dried fruit and nuts. A waxy weight and a saline tang give it real body. Salt and oily fruit see out a long finish. This is Springbank's rich, oily, maritime style.