46°
Distillery : Springbank - Campbeltown
50% Bourbon Casks, 45% Sherry Casks, 5% Rum Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2025
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured
Peated around 12 ppm
This is the very latest in the long series of 18-year-olds launched in 2009, making it the 17th batch of this now-traditional expression. The maturation process is unusual, as it involves rum casks, this had already been tried in 2023 and was fairly well received by the public, so they’ve done it again. I’d love to know how many bottles are released each year, it’s not possible to give a precise figure, but it must be in the region of 20,000 or 30,000 bottles. The bottling date is 8 December 2025, with a release in February 2026, distillation therefore took place between 9 December 2006 and 8 December 2007.
Let's Taste It :
Yellow fruit, mellow plum, cake batter, a dash of vanilla, a generous slice of pineapple. Light smoke, dust of peat. Flambéed bananas, mountain honey, almond powder, untreated wood, crushed nuts. In the background, barn-like aromas, but very discreet. Faint mineral notes with a hint of citrus. On the palate, it is velvety, smooth as silk, liqueur-like almonds and lychees, persimmon, vanilla milk, subtle spices, black pepper, cloves. A very long, full-bodied finish, a pinch of charcoal, a drop of grapefruit juice, blond tobacco, cigar ash, cola nuts, dried fruit, dates, raisins.
In Short,
I preferred it to the previous Springbank 18-year-olds I’d tasted, I found it more expressive and fruitier, probably thanks to the influence of the sherry casks. The rum is barely detectable, I just noticed plenty of citrus notes, but it isn’t sweet, and that’s just as well. That said, this series follows the same pattern, I find it a bit too gentle, hard to find in there the character and originality of the 10-year-old, with its barn-like aromas and coastal, mineral notes. That’s my main criticism. The price has thankfully dropped a little, but not enough for my liking, this craze surrounding Springbank is truly regrettable.
Score : 89
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Future Islands - Sail
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