15 August 2025.
A bit of History :
It was in the mid-1960s that the Springbank team came up with this totally revolutionary idea: what if we made whisky from local barley? It's both confoundingly simple and extremely sophisticated. Originally, all whiskies were made more or less from local barley, often on the very same farm that housed the distillery. But this practice had been lost for around a century when people from Springbank decided to return to it.
This idea implies one thing: the quality of the whisky depends on the quality of the barley, but also on where it comes from. Barley that is closer to the distillery will reinforce its identity. And so it is from its identity that a distillery derives its quality. This unstoppable equation has just brought us into the era of modern whisky.
The first Local Barley whisky of the 20th century did not bear the name Local Barley. It was distilled in 1967, bottled in 1988 and labelled: ‘A West Highland Scotch Single Malt’. The side of the label says: ‘Distilled in a Pot Still from Pure Barley Malt - only Single Campbeltown Malt’. This is the forerunner of the Local Barley series, and it is indeed made with local barley, but that's not explicit yet.
It took another two years for the Springbank team to realise the relevance of the Local Barley designation. They realised that using local barley enhanced the quality of the product, and they decided to advertise it. A brilliant idea: the Local Barley Old Series was born, and ran from 1990 to 2001, bringing together around fifty bottlings, all Single Cask, with the same vintages, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1970. Today, these legendary bottlings are sold at auction, often for 5-figure sums.
The series was discontinued in 2001, almost certainly due to a lack of stock. And for 15 years, the myth grew. Until 2016, when the rebirth was launched. But the house has made some concessions. Firstly, these are no longer Single Cask bottlings. Secondly, they are much younger. The Old Series included whiskies aged between 20 and 36 years, the New Series offers products aged between 8 and 16 years. The price will therefore be lower. However, stocks are often sold out in a matter of days, or even hours, and prices on the secondary market are dizzying.
The Line Up Concept :
Within the new series, there are ten bottlings, released at the rate of one per year, between 2016 and 2025. I managed to get 6 samples out of these 10 nuggets, don't ask me how.
I had been planning this Line Up for a long time. It took me years to get all these samples. My initial idea was of course to see if the craze for Local Barley was justified. One question: is it really that good? Does Local Barley make the whisky special? Does it really add to its identity? And which is the best? Is it possible to make a classification, at least between the 6 that I have? What criteria can we use to assess this quality, or even anticipate it?
This is not only a discovery, but above all a complete scan of the series. I want to know it inside and out.
The Tasting :
Springbank 2011 Local Barley 10 yo (out in March 2022) : Aged 100% Bourbon Barrels, 15,000 bottles released.
Candied lemon, lychee, a slightly astringent, mineral note, then it's the farm, hay, stable, pineapple, vanilla. Light peat, very earthy and slightly indulgent, brown sugar, baked apples, meringue, toasted cereals. On the palate, lemon and spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, an ounce of coal, mirabelle plums, sour pears. Very long and violent finish, marzipan, thyme rolls, balsamic vinegar, soft liquorice, caramel marshmallow. Score: 90
Springbank 2010 Local Barley 13 yo (out in February 2024) : Aged 60% Bourbon Barrels, 40% Sherry Casks, 8400 bottles released.
It's even more farmy, with hay, straw, sheep full of wool, young wood, almond paste. Numerous crunchy cereals, pralines, rolling tobacco, warm croissants, green apples. Slightly spicy, velvety palate, orchard fruits, powerful spices, reines-claudes. Slight acidity, then a relatively long, very well controlled finish, burnt butter, viandox, condiments. Score: 89
Springbank 2011 Local Barley 11 yo (out in February 2023) : Aged 55% Sherry Casks, 35% Bourbon Barrels, 10% Rum Casks, 15,000 bottles released.
The rum casks bring barley sugar, candied angelica, and behind it is hay, reeds, rhubarb, green apples, white gooseberries. Smooth on the palate, juicy lemon, corn, egg custard, almonds, fiery spices. Very long, interminable finish, plantains, sap, birch bark, soft caramel, tobacco, dried raisins. Score: 90
Springbank 2010 Local Barley 10 yo (out in March 2021) : Aged 100% Oloroso Sherry Casks, 8500 bottles released.
Sherry well present, fig jam with bits, light smoke, cinnamon crumble, chocolate powder, crushed blueberries. There's still some hay and earth, stable, straw bale, but in the background. Luscious palate, raspberries and redcurrants, prunes, aubergines, it's velvety, slightly candied and suave, light spices, peaty thickness. Very long, powerful finish, liquorice, brown tobacco, melting dark chocolate, damp bark, cola. Score: 90
Springbank 2009 Local Barley 9 yo (out in December 2018) : Aged 80% Bourbon Barrels, 20% Sherry Casks, 9700 bottles released.
Cloud of lemon, pineapple, candied banana, vaporous peat, crystalline iodine, plump yellow plums. Melted butter, olive oil, Chasselas grapes. Wild flower honey. Airy palate, evanescent vanilla, angelica, green apples, assertive spices. Caramelised apples. Extremely long finish, just powerful enough, asparagus, crème brûlée, hot fudge. Score: 90
Springbank 2016 Local Barley 8 yo (out in February 2025) : Aged 50% Bourbon Barrels, 50% Sherry Casks, 13500 bottles released.
The nose is just as evanescent, vaporous and subtle, but very pulpy, with ripe quinces and apricots, greengage jam, light farmy peat, caramelised hay, earthy stable. Fresh carrots. Palate full of melted butter, viandox and bacon, creamy vanilla, crunchy endives, very fierce spices. Long, creamy, jammy finish, crumble, peppers. Score: 90
What I gain from it :
- This really is the quintessence of the Springbank identity, first and foremost the farm, hay, stable, straw, young wood, earth, and even a touch of tobacco and angelica, vegetal nuances, reeds, tall grasses, yes, we're in it, there's no doubt about it.
- But that's not all, I detect a light peatiness, a very mineral iodine, even limestone and quartz. The distillery is close to the sea and you can feel it. The peat used doesn't resemble that of Islay, it's drier, more country-like.
- Finally, ageing plays its part. The Bourbon Barrels bring a lovely fruitiness, reinforcing the farmhouse character, with melted butter and almonds. It's not for nothing that almost all the bottlings are marked by Bourbon. Having said that, the Sherry casks add something extra, a velvety, suave quality and a lovely roundness that further enhances the quality of the product.
- Of course, local barley is an important asset! The farmyard character is reinforced, and we also get wonderful cerealy, greedy, crisp nuances. It's impossible to forget here that whisky is a grain spirit.
Conclusion :
Of the 6 expressions, I'll give my personal ranking. The best is the 9 yo 2018 in my opinion, followed by the 8 yo 2025, the very latest. Then 10 yo 2021 - 10 yo 2022 - 11 yo 2023 - 13 yo 2024.
You can see that the youngest are the best, and the oldest the least interesting. I deduce from this that age is important, it has to be a relatively young whisky, so that the distillate retains its character and is not rounded, tamed by the wood.
Apart from this year's 8-year-old, the best are also the most ancient. It seems logical to me that the editions are less good over time. The pressure of success, and constantly shrinking stocks, no doubt.
But on the whole, they're really excellent products, and wildly original. Springbank is one of the best distilleries in the world, because it's one of the most creative. With Local Barley, they introduced the notion of terroir in whisky, the notion of a distillery's identity in relation to its region and its environment. Of course, there is also an ecological interest, with local trade, but that's not the main thing.
The main thing is that, thanks to them, whisky is once again the story of a region, a land, a geological and climatic environment, a culture, with its know-how and rituals, in the same way as wine. It's no longer just a whisky to be drunk, it's a character to be discovered. It's a culture that expresses itself.
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