Springbank Vintage for Jon Bertelsen 12 Years Old 1996

This Springbank, an official release, a 12 year old Campbeltown malt from 1996, drawn from cask 373 and bottled at 57%. The outturn was 277 bottles. Springbank, distilling since 1828 in Campbeltown, is still owned by the Mitchell family, five generations on. Production is tiny by modern standards, a fraction of a large Speyside distillery.

This was distilled the Springbank way, two and a half times from floor malted barley, and run into cast iron worm tubs. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. Past a decade the oily spirit deepens, fruit and salt knitting with the oak. Coastal warehousing gives the malt its briny, mineral lift. Few distilleries keep so much of the old craft alive under one roof. 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.

At cask strength 57% it is muscular. A coastal, waxy spirit with gentle peat meet creamy vanilla and oak sweetness from the cask. It is deep and complex, the maritime spirit shining through. The close is rich, fruit over a saline depth. This is the cult Campbeltown malt from J and A Mitchell.