Springbank 12 Year Cask Strength

Stop number 3 on the SDT is Springbank. One of only 3 distilleries in the Campbeltown region. This 12 year old cask strength is from batch #11 and is matured in 70% sherry casks and 30% bourbon barrels. It comes in at 53.8% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of what I would call rusty bronze. I had to put on my lab coat and bust out the microscope, beakers, graduated cylinders and centrifuges to analyze this enigma of a single malt. I had tasting sessions over 3 nights and contrary to my normal habits, I had one glass neat and one with water. Here is what I found... Neat: The nose has a light but earthy peat, but no smoke. There is heat there. It's musty with a bourbony mint. Dried grass or hay. Tobacco maybe? Slightly briny with leather. There is also a sweetness to it. Dried sherried fruits, dark chocolate cherry cordials. With time in the glass a sort of caramel corn note appears and a very faint coconut. It took a lot of time to figure out what all these were. With water: More floral with light oak. Fresh sherried fruits. Honey and toffee. Depending on how much water I added (I used different amounts each night) I would get baked pears with cinnamon. Light orange/citrusy notes. Neat: The palate is HOT on the first taste. Once you get past the heat (if you can) there are dark sherried fruits and oak and maybe some new leather. With water: The palate is much lighter with honey, hay and a faint citrusy note. The mouthfeel is hot, oily and mouthwatering. The finish is long with faint peat and dark fruits like berries or cherries. Like the Glendronach Cask Strength I tried a few months ago, this whisky really does benefit from water. Unfortunately I do not enjoy NEEDING to add water to enjoy a dram. There is complexity here for sure, but it was too much of a chore for me to decipher everything, and I'm sure I missed much on the palate. Too hot for my liking as well. I hope the 10 year old I have will treat me a little better. 3.25

If the 10 is like a peck on the cheek, this one here is a full French kiss. If you like the 10, you'I'll love this. More of everything the 10 has, but well balanced despite it. Nose is hay and lemons. Taste is oranges and vanilla, with a long citrus finish. All the while, you get a light smoke, but not the Islay style. Really well balanced, even though you get a plethora of flavors. Thanks to Matt for the generous sample! Restasted 3/17: thanks to Paul, I got to sample this again. Same notes apply...my love affair with Cambeltown continues . Thanks Paul for the sample !

I originally tried this bottle back in June of 2016. I wasn't writing as detailed of reviews earlier this year, but I see this bottle has been reviewed quite a few times here recently. I looked through my notes and realized that I didn't think very highly of this. Maybe I should give it another try. Anyway, here was my review posted on a different whisky website (circa 6/2016): This is a big boy of a single malt. There's just a hint of peat smoke that makes you take notice before the high proof burn kicks in. Relatively smooth with a bourbon-esque finish. Feel the burn. I'm not sure there's enough flavor there to justify the three-digit price tag, but enough of it will certainly get the job done.

Nose is typical Springbank, which is to say briny and grassy with a lemon undertone. It's neither overwhelming (Uigeadail) nor excessively muted (Bruichladdich Islay Barley), but pleasant, and certainly indicative of things to come. The palate is leather, lemon, uncut hay, anchovies, olive brine, honeydew, iodine and just the faintest whiffs of peat and fine cigar smoke, and they come together in such a way as to make this a remarkable drink. The finish surprises, as I can't figure how something that tastes this earthy, this dirty can end up oh-so-clean, with the salt lingering beyond the smoke and peat to leave your mouth dry and just a bit tingly. I can't really begin to do this justice with words; the flavors are so intertwined that it's really difficult to pull them apart. Much like the Ledaig 10, this is better than the sum of its parts. For a CS, this is imminently drinkable straight; very little alcohol burn, and it doesn't hide the flavors at all. A dash of water brings out rubber and iodine on the nose, and mutes the savory tastes allowing just a tad more sweet to show. The color is a fantastic dark amber, and while all Springbanks have a fairly rich, oily texture, this is the most viscous I've had. Excellent in all regards.