Springbank Vintage 13 Years Old 1996

This Springbank, an official release matured to 13 year old from 1996, drawn from cask 263 and bottled at 54.9%. A release of 610 bottles. The Springbank distillery, established in 1828, is run much as it was a century ago. It makes three malts: Springbank, the peated Longrow and the unpeated Hazelburn.

The make was distilled two and a half times from lightly peated, floor malted malt, then condensed through worm tubs. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the maritime malt. Past a decade the oily spirit deepens, fruit and salt knitting with the oak. Years in oak deepen the fruit and the maritime character together. 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. A 1940s Porteus mill and an open iron mash tun are part of the old setup.

At 54.9%, undiluted, it is deep and powerful. A dry, nutty, almond edge from the cask underpins oily orchard fruit, salt and a wisp of peat. A coastal salt and an orchard fruit lift it. It closes long, oily and salty. This is an oily, salty Campbeltown classic.