Tastes

It’s officially 2022 and I’ve decided to “Spring”bank into it with a series of samples. Continuing on my Springbank series, I have the 18-year from the 2018 release. The nose starts with a light funk and combination of lemon, lime and prickly pear cactus followed by vanilla meringue, sun baked salted fruits of apple, pear and charred orange with a light smoke background before a wet cavernous minerality that fades to light barrel spices of ginger, suede and polished oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin to medium mouthfeel starting with Italian lemon lime soda and prickly pear cactus candy followed by vanilla meringue, ocean brine, sun baked fruits of apple, pear and red grapefruit with a light smoke background before a wet cavernous minerality and mild spice that quickly fades to light barrel spices of ginger, suede and polished oak with light ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with sun baked fruits of apples, pears, grapefruit, vanilla cupcake, ocean brine, prickly pear cactus candy, light ash, suede and polished oak. This is light, easy sipping whisky that brings in an effervescent fruit drink citrus flavor along with that Springbank funky fruit with light smoke, cavernous minerality and light barrel spices that’s perfectly balanced without any flaws, but drinks thinner than the 15 year and the notes are lighter than I’d prefer. The 18 is still a very delicious whisky which I wish had a higher proof, but if I were to pick up a Springbank product today, I’d probably skip this one and pick up a Springbank 15, Hazelburn 13(2020) or a Longrow 18(2018).

It’s officially 2022 and I’ve decided to “Spring”bank into it with a series of samples. Continuing on my Springbank series, I have the 15-year that was generously provided by @ctbeck11 The nose starts with a light effervescent mixture of citrus, sherry and wheat field then dark chocolate covered raisins and sugar cookies followed by a blown out but still smoking match that fades to the background of fruits of salted sun baked orange, charred lemon and prunes that transitions to candied ginger, light leather and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium yet creamy mouthfeel starting with a light effervescent mixture of citrus, sherry and wheat field then salted dark chocolate with a caramel center and cinnamon raisin oatmeal cookies followed by a moderate and drying spice that slowly fades to the background of fruits of orange creamsicle, candied lemon peel and red grapefruit that transitions to candied ginger, vintage leather and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with light ash, ocean brine, butterscotch pudding, dark chocolate raisins, shortbread cookies, red grapefruit, vintage leather and polished oak. Coming off of the cask strength 12s, this is a very easy sipper that has an incredibly creamy mouthfeel. The nose greets you with a mellow Springbank funk with balanced sherry notes before the light smoke comes through then some sun soaked charred fruits and moderate oak that carries over to the taste with what feels like a whipped cream mouthfeel, slightly bitter yet sweet citrus and a moderate spice with polished oak that finishes creamy with light ash, slightly bitter fruit, butterscotch and well-aged oak. This is another incredible whisky by Springbank that is very well balanced and I’d prefer it over batch 17 or 21 of the 12 year cask strengths, but it’d be hard to beat the batch 19 that had an even creamier mouthfeel with bolder flavors. At around $150 around me, I think this is a worthy buy for the unique creaminess with an incredible balance of those wonderful funky Springbank and sherry notes that have aged gracefully to create a very unique and flavorful whisky.

It’s officially 2022 and I’ve decided to “Spring”bank into it with a series of samples. Continuing on my Springbank series, I have three different batches of the 12-year Cask Strength. Batch 17 comes from @ContemplativeFox and was matured in 70% ex-Sherry casks, 30% ex-Bourbon and bottled at 56.2%. The nose starts with light funk, toasted barley, dark chocolate covered raisins and dehydrated apricot followed by a smoldering campfire by the ocean that fades into the background of fruits of persimmons, charred tangerine and red grapefruit that transitions to candied ginger, light leather and moderate oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with light funk, toasted barley, dark chocolate covered raisins followed by a moderate peat smoke with light drying spice that slowly fades to fruits of apricots, charred tangerine and red grapefruit juice that transitions to ocean brine, light minerality, candied ginger, light leather and moderate oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with shortbread cookies, dark chocolate covered raisins, ocean brine, candied ginger, light leather and mild ashy oak. A very enjoyable dram with the sherry barrels front and center, but they play well with the traditional Springbank funk, fruit and smoke without overpowering or giving too much of a sulfur influence followed with the bourbon barrels adding some enjoyable creamy citrus notes. Final Score: 4.0 Batch 19 comes from @ctbeck11 and was matured in 65% ex-Bourbon casks, 35% ex-Sherry casks and bottled at 57.1%. The nose is big and rich starting with a mild funky butterscotch pudding and caramelized apples followed by light sherry then a soft and delicate pipe smoke that fades to the background of creamed corn, maraschino cherry, and sun baked salted orange that transitions to ocean sea waves crashing over seaside rocks and antique leather wrapped oak furniture with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich creamy mouthfeel starting with a mild funky butterscotch pudding and caramelized apples followed dark chocolate raisins then a mild spice that quickly fades to soft and delicate pipe smoke, creamed corn, maraschino cherry, and orange creamsicle that transitions to ocean sea waves crashing over seaside rocks and antique leather wrapped oak furniture with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with orange creamsicle, dark chocolate covered raisins, shortbread cookies, light ocean brine, and antique leather armchair. Wow, this one is incredible! The flavors are bold, rich and creamy with a near perfect balance that can easily beat bottles that cost several times more than it. The bourbon influence really brought a lot to these with the sherry flavors adding additional complexity to slightly elevate it to near perfection without either overpowering those traditional Springbank funk, fruits and moderate peat smoke. Final Score: 4.75 Batch 21 was matured in 45% ex-Sherry, 25% ex-Bourbon, 25% ex-Burgundy, 5% ex-Port casks and bottled at 56.1%. The nose starts with bales of hay and dark cherry cordial followed by a moderate peat smoke with fruits of fresh picked strawberries, caramelized apples and Sunkist raisins then ocean sea waves crashing over seaside rocks, light leather and moderate oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a viscous mouthfeel starting with big and bold orchard fruit followed by burnt bales of hay and dark chocolate cherry mocha followed by a moderate peat smoke and drying spice that then fades to fruits of fresh picked strawberries, caramelized apples and oatmeal raisin cookies then ocean sea waves crashing over seaside rocks, light leather and moderate oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with burning hay, a dark chocolate cherry mocha, ocean brine, cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookies, strawberry jam, leather and moderate oak. Overall, a great dram that manages to bring in citrus, dark berries, along with Springbank funk, moderate peat and minerality, but the balance seems off to me with a higher spice on the palate and finish overpowering some of the flavors. Side by side with the 10 year old, I like this one slightly more for its bolder flavors and red berry fruits, but I could easily prefer the 10 year on days I don’t want a high proof whisky and want an easy sipper instead. Final Score: 3.75 Conclusion: What a fun experience to try three different batches and compare them to each other. Springbank seems to keep you on your toes with these different batches and each one brought a unique spin to complement those traditional Springbank notes. Personally, I found that the high bourbon influence with a light sherry for additional complexity to be my Springbank match, but I can see how either one of the other batches could fit a person’s palate better. Overall score for all: 4.25

It’s officially 2022 and I’ve decided to “Spring”bank into it with a series of samples. Continuing on my Springbank series, I have this sample of the 10 year from @ctbeck11. The nose starts with a mix of light hay and vanilla cream puff followed by light fruits of baked apple, sun baked orange, and charred lemon that then brings some light minerality and mild oak spice with light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel that starts fruity before quickly veering towards a moderate and slightly drying spice that slowly fades to hay bales along with light fruits of baked apple, salted sun baked orange, and lemon drop candy that then brings some light minerality, black pepper and medium oak spice with light ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with poached pears, baked apples, light minerality, slightly burnt hay, and mild oak. This is a very enjoyable drink that brings that Springbank funk along with spice, fruits and minerality that is well balanced but has a higher spice and ashier influence than I personally care for. A huge thanks to @ctbeck11 for the sample.

The nose greets you with a rich chocolate and barnyard funk mix followed by buttered cinnamon raisin toast then fruits of sun baked salted orange, baked apple, and charred lemon that transitions to a cavern minerality, light ginger, and light oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a syrupy rich mouthfeel starting with a moderate spice before rich chocolate with toasted nuts and barnyard funk mix followed by cinnamon raisin cookies then fruits of sun baked salted orange, baked apple, and charred lemon that transitions to a cavern minerality, light ginger, and mild oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with dark chocolate covered raisins, charred orange peel, lemon drop candy, fresh cut hay, and light oak. The nose is fantastic on this that makes me feel like Russell Crowe in Gladiator walking through fields of wheat while eating a rich chocolate bar then some slightly funky fruits, minerality and light oak that carries over to the taste with a mild spice and addition of toasted nuts that finishes with dark chocolate, citrus and mellow barnyard funk. The cask strength on this one really brings those Springbank notes in with big bold flavors but the youth with a moderate spice on the taste are my main faults with it. This was an incredible treat that @Richard-ModernDrinking was kind enough to share and a great start to my Springbank series.

The nose starts with a nice cola note with a light oak spice and peanut brittle then fruits of cinnamon spiced caramel apples, watered down cherry juice and orange sports drink followed by chai spiced latte, leather and mild oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a medium and drying oak spice that slowly but eventually fades to fruits of caramel apple fritters, cherry juice and orange sports drink followed by a blonde espresso mocha, leather and medium ashy oak with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with caramelized peaches, apple pie, maraschino cherries, vanilla gelato, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, leather and ashy oak spice. This has a nice and rich nose with traditional bourbon flavors that seems promising, but the taste is an overly drying spice fest that lingers until finally fading to some enjoyable fruits, coffee and ashy oak that finishes fruity with chocolate and a medium ashy spice. At the $130+ price, I really expected a lot more and better balance of flavors. I decided to put this in a side by side with a Russell’s Reserve single barrel and found that the Russell’s has a lighter nose and mouthfeel but manages to keep a better balance of flavors without the medium and drying oak of the Discovery #5. For me, I think the Russell’s provides a better experience and is nearly half the cost of the Bardstown Discovery #5. A big thank you to @ctbeck11 for the generous sample of this to try.

Four Roses limited releases have always been extremely hard to locate at retail and used to sell out while Blanton’s just sat there quietly gaining dust. Now that Blanton’s is nearly impossible to locate, the odds of getting a Four Roses at the liquor store without absurd secondary prices is increasingly impossible without a good amount of luck, unicorn hunting skills or a combination of both. Thankfully I’ve made some friends here on Distiller that are very generous with unicorn bottles. This sample comes from the extremely generous @PBMichiganWolverine , who clearly knows how to navigate the liquor store better than me in unicorn hunting. The nose is incredibly rich that starts with a welcoming blast of balanced oak and rye spice followed by butterscotch hard candy then dark chocolate covered caramel pecan clusters followed by apple pie filling, maraschino cherries, and candied orange peel that transitions to spearmint, dill, pipe tobacco, leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich decadent mouthfeel starting with a moderate rye spice that fades but stays in the background of butterscotch gelato topped on dark chocolate bourbon caramel pecan pie followed by freshly warmed McDonald’s apple pie, sour cherries, and mandarin orange that transitions to spearmint, dill, pipe tobacco, leather and polished mahogany with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with a moderate rye spice in the background of dark chocolate cherry cordial, slightly burnt pie crust, apple jolly rancher, candied pecans, freshly lit pipe tobacco, leather and antique polished mahogany furniture. This is incredibly rich and decadent bourbon that brings those traditional bourbon notes in a bold and powerful experience, but the high rye spices seem to detract from the experience causing a bit of dryness and spice that overpower those bold citrus, chocolate, nuts, butterscotch and polished oak for me. If you like a rich and spicy version of bourbon, this will be incredible for you, but for me the spice throws off the balance.

The nose starts with a fruity and sour blast similar to juicy drop gummies followed by a lightly salted butter on toasted pumpernickel bread then comes fruits of pears, peaches and apples that transitions to spices of spearmint, forest floors and light oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a floral and fruity mix that then quickly goes to a high chalky and bitter flavor with burnt pine cones and roasted cacao nibs that is drying and slightly astringent with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with an ashy, sour and bitter mix. When I first opened the sample and took a taste, I really disliked this one, but with each additional sip, it started to grow on me. It’s youthful with a weird sour fruit and burning forest flavor going on it, but for the $30 price, it’s a fairly enjoyable budget friendly one. A huge thanks to @ContemplativeFox for the sample.