Springbank time! I’ll use SB sometimes to mean Springbank.
Springbank Campbeltown Loch Blend, 40%
Note that this is the ‘original/old’ bottling. A ‘cheapo’ springbank blended scotch, Campbeltown Loch was originally a blended Scotch whisky that contained Springbank and Longrow that had been blended with grain whisky in a 40 / 60 split. Malty and with a slight off-note nose. The off-note reminds me of old mechanical gearwork machinery or inside of a generator. Slightly salty and very lightly smoked… but that’s not surprising considering this is partially peated. Palate is ‘frankly’ very thin, flavorful, but very thin. Lots of butter, some salinity, touch of smoke, some sweetness. But that salinity and butter combined with low proof, almost give it mineral water-like impression to me. Light and very slightly peppery aftertaste. Overall: Lack of proof just destroys everything. At 43 or 46 this could have been something, but at 40, it’s too watery for grain and light malt with zero sherry. I didn’t expect much and I didn’t get much here. Drinkable, but there are tons and tons and tons of better things out there, even the cheaper Laing and Compass Box blends are (arguably) better than this. Value: N/A since it’s a discontinued bottling.
https://www.wine-sea … campbeltown+scotland
Score: C-
Springbank 15, Rum (Cask) Wood, 51%
An official bottling from 2019. Salted honey on the nose, lots of malt, very light smoke. Sweet, almost sugary without feeling syrupy, smoked honey again, some saltiness, malty butter on the palate. Aftertaste is not too long, sweet and peppery, but doesn’t get too overwhelming, peat finally shows up in the secondary notes and lets itself be known by bringing somewhat ashy cigar flavor. That ash lingers for quite a while actually. Almost like a second-hand smoke. Overall: This is excellent drinker assuming one likes light cigars… and lightly smoked honey. The proof is just perfect too. As much as I am not a fan of peat, this combination of sweetness and light ash is right up my valley. Value: It’s Springbank limited bottling… The sticker price was probably okay if slightly overpriced, but the secondary is sure to be outright unapproachable.
https://www.whiskyba … ringbank-15-year-old
Score: A-
Springbank 18, 46%
A Springbank 18 bottling from 2016. As of note the different year batches do vary slightly in composition so what follows should only be seens my view on that specific bottling year. The nose is straight up cologne or maybe some very musky perfume. Something of a reminder of sniffing grandmas old perfume bottles back in my childhood days. My pining aside, it’s super light smoke, sherry nuttiness, and salted honey. Very slight bitterness on the palate, similar to walnuts, the rest is the same as nose, light smoke, salted honey, sherry nuttiness. Lightly ashy, warming, long aftertaste follows. None of the experience is actually sweet, if anything it’s slightly charry and ashy and little less sweet than say their Rum cask bottling. Overall: Oh this is rather great. If it was a touch sweeter it’d be a slam dunk. As it stands, that ash pulls by a nose ahead of the other flavors. Amazing for most I’m sure, somewhat distracting for some. Value: Eeeeeh. The sticker price for 18 is $279.99 at Total Wine. Yes, there’s something to be said about SB distillery quality but they’re competing with some truly great stuff in that price range. Heavily overpriced as is most Springbank because reasons.
Score: A
Springbank 11, Sauternes Single Cask, 57.2%
Ooooh my, I’m looking forward to this. Springbank in general really works well with sweeter casks, having a natural ashy character. Also this one is kinda dark too. Fairly typical SB nose with addition to sweet sauternes notes. Light smoked and salted honey primarily. It’s really hitting on the sweeter side of the spectrum. Oddly reminds me of hot-smoked smoked salmon with the sweetness, salinity and smoke notes. Boom! Smoked honeyed dessert in a glass… just wow. Almost too sweet, but the natural character and smoky ash is holding up nicely on palate. Medium length sweet finish and the fact that it’s only medium length is the only downside here really. Overall: Sweet dessert, tropical, slightly smoky. Amazingly delicious. Really well balanced, yet definitely falls on the ‘a tad too sweet’ side of the balance. Ever so close to A-plus as I’ve had. Value: This was originally ~$110 back in the day which is… kinda expensive at the time… but now, considering it’s SB, that price is laughably cheap. These go for ~$400 on secondary for context.
Fairly sure it was this: https://www.whiskyba … ringbank-11-year-old
Score: A
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Some quick notes on hand filled samples from Springbank stills… All these hand filled on 8/24/2022 at the distillery
Distillery — Age — Score — Notes
- Hazelburn, 57% — Age: N/A — A- — Very pale. Sweet, light peat, malt, very peppery aftertaste. Delicious.
- Kilkerran, 57.4% — Age: N/A — B+ — Very pale. Sweet, lightly ashy, high proof aftertaste. Very good.
- Longrow, 56.9% — Age: N/A — B — Medium amber. Nutty nose, salty, smokey, and nutty palate, ashy and drying aftertaste. Smoked fish that turns into a cigar.
- Springbank, 54.9% — Age: N/A — B- — Pale. Ashy smoke nose. Lots of ash overall. Neutrally balanced palate between salt and sugars. Sichuan peppers in the aftertaste.
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown