Tastes

Nose: Acetone, burned sugar/burned marshmallows, bonfire. Funky - but not in a good way! Palate: Chicory, caraway, salt & mineral, brown sugar, oak, BBQ meat Finish: Long finish. Wet wood smoke, funky, bonfire, caramelised sugar, tree bark, damp dog. This dram smells awful, but tastes much better than you get on the nose. Bizarrely, I quite like this as a dram - it's odd, but nicely funky. I'd call this an acquired taste - if you can get past the god awful smell! Matured in 80% ex bourbon and 20% ex-sherry casks

Nose: Saline, peat, funk/farmyard/earthy Palate: BBQ pork, muddy, earthy. Sweet and ‘sweaty’. Oily. Finish: Long finish. Dark chocolate, a good bit of Campbeltown funk. Sweet and a little sour on the aftertaste. There’s a real strength of funky flavour in this dram. It’s an old fashioned, oily, dirty whisky. It definitely has its own place in the whisky canon! I love the ethos of Springbank, I like the fact that it’s an old fashioned manufacturing style and that they keep most of their whiskies to a reasonable price point. My tasting notes are almost identical to the last time I had tried this dram at a tasting a couple of months ago. I had said then that I find the taste profile quite challenging but that I’d keep trying. I don't know what has happened over the last couple of months, but having tried this again, I liked it a lot more than previous. Since the last time was a tasting, it might just have been the comparison with other whiskies, but I really enjoyed it this time. I'll need to revisit some more from Springbank...

Nose: Sweet, syrup, light peat, dried fruit, Bakewell tart Palate: Smooth, oily, fruit - pear & orange rind, vanilla, buttercream, honey Finish: Medium finish, lemon / citrus, salty, grapefruit. Light smoke. 70% ex-bourbon, 30% ex-sherry casks Nice mouthfeel. Lightly oily, sweet, citrus and salt - all nicely layered. The gentle smoke and peat give this a lift without overpowering.

Nose: Light, oak, vanilla, smoke. Very gentle on the nose. Palate: Sweet (saccharin), citrus, light spice, nutty/almond, honey glaze, tropical fruit, pears Finish: Short finish. Gently smoky. Citrus, sour apple, light char. Dried cinnamon and nutmeg on the aftertaste. Soft, creamy mouthfeel. Quite a rich dram. This is a session whisky and goes down very well. Not one I would say is particularly remarkable or memorable, but very easy to drink.

Nose: Dried fruit - raisins, chocolate, coffee Palate: Citrus, orange, chocolate, black pepper, oak, dried fruit Finish: Medium finish, gristy, oak, raisins, coffee. There is a watered down feel to this whisky. Not bad, but there is a feeling of something missing in the layers. Generally OK. 1 of 9,900 bottles

Nose: Ammonia, sweet, vanilla, maple syrup Palate: Sweet, maple syrup, woody/earthy, burnt caramel, crème brûlée, dates, figs, prunes Finish: Medium long finish. Golden syrup, caramel, Demerara sugar, oak & leather Syrupy mouthfeel. This is like a pudding whisky! Well structured, with layers and layers of both dark and light flavours. Delicious! Distilled: 2012 Bottled: 2021 Cask: 3630493 1 of 61 bottles 8 years in oak casks, followed by 3 months finishing in a sherry Octave cask

Nose: Furniture polish, berries, kids sweets. Very sweet. Palate: Fruity (prunes, dates, dried sweet fruit), icing sugar, Victoria sponge cake, marzipan Finish: Medium finish. Sweet, golden syrup, oak, vanilla. Dry and sweet on the aftertaste. A sweet, birthday cake and icing sugar dram, with a very dry nutty finish. A very tasty whisky!

£70 for a 200ml bottle Nose: Burnt plastic, rubber, menthol, hot Palate: Rubber, tyres, salty, mineral, woody Finish: Medium long finish. Tree bark, very dry and dusty on the finish. This is a burnt plastic, rubber tyre and tannic dry dram. Not my taste profile at all. Distilled: 1998 Bottled: 2021

Nose: Sweet, caramel, fruity (apricots) Palate: Sweet, caramel, vanilla, apricots, plums Finish: Short finish. Oak, nuts/pine nuts, vanilla, citrus, orange Fresh and fruity. A very easy drinking dram. Distilled: 2010 Bottled: 2021 1 of 86 bottles 10 Years in oak cask no 2929163 and 3 months in an Octave

Nose: Acetone, hairspray, kid’s sweets, foam bananas, furniture polish. Orchard fruit - apple and pear Palate: Sweet sherry, caramel, raisins, vanilla, baking spice (cloves and cinnamon) Finish: Medium finish. Leather, oak, raisins/currants, dried fruit, Christmas cake This tastes lighter than its 55.4% would suggest. Heavily sherried, quite sweet and exceptionally easy to drink. Distilled: March 2008 Bottled: April 2021 Cask No: 28900016 I have no idea which distillery this is actually from.