Springbank Society Bottling Local Barley 11 Years Old 1999

A distillery bottling of Springbank matured to 11 year old from 1999 and bottled at 57.9%. The outturn was 516 bottles. The Springbank distillery, a family distillery since 1828, is a survivor of Campbeltown's great whisky era. Concerto barley is malted on the floors and kilned in the distillery's own kiln.

The make was run two and a half times through the stills from lightly peated malt, then cooled slowly in worm tubs. Ex-Sherry wood suited the heavy make, adding a dried fruit richness. At this age the spirit is vivid and oily, the fruit and salt to the fore. Refill oak lets the distillery character lead, all oily weight and coastal salt. 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.

Undiluted at 57.9%, it is intense. Brine, wax and a light peat note sit over dried fruit and a walnut richness. The texture is rich and oily, the salt threaded through. A long finish smoulders on salt and oil. This is a complex, coastal Campbeltown whisky.