Springbank 12 Year Burgundy Wood

Picked a couple of these up online recently, likely paid too much but that's the market. Nose - classic springbank funk. Heavy vanilla icing, salted malt, and some dark red wine notes. Very much taking on some levels of soy sauce notes with classic springbank sweet and funky notes. You can't miss the distinct springbank. Water brings out sweetness, alcohol, and showcases these wine casks. Taste - The taste is more springbank springbank and springbank . Reminds me a hell of a lot of a 12 CS. Water makes this drink a lot sweeter, as we all know at CS SB wants us to play with water and I think a drop or two really is a perfect spot. The wine casks really jump out and you really get that burgundy profile. At the same time the whisky remains springbank funk with that salty and ever so slightly peated whisky notes. This is hands down my favorite 12 year (it's about 12.5 years old) old whisky to date. It's not really significantly better than a 12 CS and to be honest side by side I'd be interested in how different they are. Actually - test. So 56.2 which isn't my favorite 12, but the first one I grabbed. So this 12 is seriously not one of their better ones, been drinking on some others, wow. OK so a bit more bite to the funk. The finish is a bit more citrus and lingering, the higher use of likely refill bourbon casks gives off more oak funk and bitterness. Overall the 12 CS as you'd expect is a much more old world type funky, sour, bitter experience. Meanwhile the Burgundy is more BBQ, salt, savory and sweeter. Anyway, I'm digging this 12 year Burgundy wood. It's springbank through and through (and yeah I'm saying this because other reviews have said otherwise, and I cannot more strongly disagree and I'm someone with 30 or so springbanks on the shelf), but it adds this incredible finishing and I find I like a depth in the finishing that sometimes gets lost on more used casks. 3.75

I took count of my backlog of samples, and it turns out I have over 70...SEVENTY!! I’m really slacking. Some of them go back over a year. I really need to put in some overtime on these things. This one comes from by way of @Telex. This Springbank was aged for 12 years in Burgundy casks. Bottled at 53.5% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of a dark amber. The nose is sweet on top with the classic Springbank funk underneath. Light vegetal peat, sulfur, very aromatic. Rich burgundy notes as well as salted caramel, chocolate and vanilla. Mixed berry pie filling, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, maple and toffee. Meaty, more of that Springbank funk and Worcestershire sauce. Mineral notes, herbal, hay. Water isn’t needed but I added some anyway to see what would happen. A bit of orange citrus and not much else. Much better without water. Plenty of heat on the arrival but a good heat. Earthy peat, pepper. Dark berries, dense grain breads, oak, wine notes and red grapes. Salted caramels, mineral funk and a bit of mint. Water brings out something akin to nuttiness, but I’m not sure if that’s it. Also a little tobacco. Again, no water needed here, much better neat. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is oily and mouth coating. The finish is medium long with that Springbank funk, winey, grapes, berries, mineral notes and dry. Definitely a Springbank, no doubts there. The question is how I feel about it. I’m constantly barraged with others glowing opinions about this distillery, but I haven’t decided if I like it or not. I didn’t care for the 12 CS, the 13 Green was good but very odd, but I did have a 24 year old from Maltman that was exquisite. I’ve got a bottle of the 10 year old, plus a bottle of Longrow 18, but of course if I open them it will take time away from my samples...decisions decisions. This one was a good variant with the burgundy casks adding a nice level of complexity. I think I just need to try a few more to really make up my mind. As for this one, I’d give it a 3.75-4. Cheers

I tried this for the first time with @KoryH in April, sipped on it again in late May after J and I found out we were going to be parents, savored it at the beach in July, and have spent time with it on candlelit Saturday nights and on contemplative Sunday afternoons. Last night I finished off a generous pour after an excruciating week of witnessing the deepest evils humans are capable of. Much like life as I’ve experienced it lately, this 2016 limited release whisky from Springbank is a nemesis, complicated and multifaceted. The analogy breaks down in that this whisky is beautiful and delightful through and through. On the nose is salted papaya, the heavy aroma of late-summer gardenia, new leather, Manuka honey, black plums, and rhubarb. The longer it sits, the more the sweet wineyness mellows out, and the maritime signature wafts up as the dram continues to open up. The palate is thick and sweet in the front – pomegranate being added to the flavors from the nose. Mid-palate, brine and spice follow the deep fruitiness. Cardamom, tarragon, cayenne-dusted cashews, crushed pepper… At the back of the mouth these sensations are tied together by a deep maltiness and luxurious roundness. This whisky is tannic and heated, numbing the cheeks and gums. The finish is a wash of berries, seawater, nuts, and maltiness, and its burn fades on the tongue only after several minutes. This exquisite whisky invokes daydreams of a chilly day at a North Atlantic beach, saturated with red wine. I’m so glad to have experienced this well-balanced and beautifully crafted single malt. Its sweetness, though tantalizing, never outshines the Springbank richness. What a memorable bottle of whisky…

Earthiness: grass, dirt, peat, strawberries, raspberries, vegetable like with a musty grape quality, waxy.