46°
Distillery : Springbank - Campbeltown
Bourbon and Sherry Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2013
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured
Almost Unpeated
There were three batches of Springbank 21 Year Old in 2013. This one is the very first, bottled in January 2013 at 1680 bottles. Since the late 1990s, the 21 Year Old was no longer really part of the regular range. Instead, it was a succession of limited editions, which the distillery released when it could. 2013 was a rather prolific year, unlike 2014 when there was not a single Batch.
Let's Taste It :
Beautiful woodiness, blending with the smoke, light charcoal in the background. At times the hay comes through a little, it's earthy and almost rancid. Wood liqueur, a whiff of iodine, a few grains of sand. There are some fruits, blackberries, plums, but it's as if they've macerated for a very long time. It's syrupy, thick. Vanilla and lemon, but it's evanescent, you can barely smell them. It's a bit meaty, like a stew, but there's compote too. Perhaps one or two gooseberries or cranberries. On the palate, the wood is deep, a hint of bitterness, spices that know how to behave, cumin, nutmeg, chives. Dried banana, black tea. Forest berries. The finish goes on and on, still quite spicy, heather, pine cones, damp black earth, cola. It fizzes on the tip of the tongue, a pinch of salt perhaps. Parmesan.
In Short,
I found this whisky very wood-influenced, which is usually a flaw, but here it's so subtle and nuanced by other flavours that it's really fantastic. The finish is also very nice, very long and forestry. I don't know how much this bottle would cost today, it's become completely out of reach.
Score : 90
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Bonobo - No Reason
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