Springbank 18 Year

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).

Du gingembre mariné adoucit par du miel, de la paille et des poires enrobées de crémage à gâteau, quelques agrumes et quelques fleurs, dans un corps soyeux et riche mettant en valeur du gros orge blond sucré et non un Xérès dominant.

Rating: 22/23 N: Moderated peaty herbaceousness (odd, considering this is unpeated), cinnamon, prune, some floral vanilla. A lot less farmyard, grass, and richness than the 15 has. Some dry wood starts coming through. It smells old but restrained. Leaving it for a bit, a little tangerine starts coming out too and the depth builds. It's a very nice nose. After a while, some meat and light farmyard start coming out, along with a dash of iodine. This isn't really a more complex nose than that of the 15, but it might be a bit deeper. They're fairly different stylistically, but now I kind of find the sweet cinnamon here a bit more appealing. P: Sweet with cinnamon, grain, farmyard, grass, waxy tartness, herbal, earthy peat. Is this really unpeated? It tastes very mildly peated, though I think that's just the farmyard mixing with the smoke from the toasting. And whatever is causing that iodine flavor. I like the bit of prickliness the comes with the cinnamon and the occasional tangerine that comes in here. The flavor really swirls here. I'm really struggling to capture all of the flavors that the depths of this dram include because there are so many and I only have a sample of this. And, frankly, I'd really like to enjoy the sample. The wood is present here, but it comes with a light touch, showing more in the maturity and artistry with which it sculpts the other flavors, enhancing their natural beauty. I do wish that the flavor were fuller though. F: Light brown sugar, malt, cinnamon at first. They do linger, but more farmyard, grain, and iodine come out as it progresses. There's some nice umami lingering here. - Conclusion - My first thought is "there's no way this is below an 18, and even that seems almost certainly too low". My second thought is "oh, crap, what do I have around to compare this with in the 19 to 23 range? Nothing very fitting, I'm afraid. I have Cadenhead's Tullibardine 25 (1993) at a 19, though a low one. This is far more complex and balanced, with more maturity. The Tullibardine has a fuller flavor, but that doesn't make up for the gap here though. There's no way I'm going below a 20 now. I'm leaning more toward a 21 or 22 though. Lismore 21 (a solid 19) is actually pretty funky, so it's a better match-up. That said, the Lismore comes across as rough and muddled in comparison. The distinction is stark. This can't be below a 21. Maybe it's a 23. Another fairly poor match-up is Glenfarclas 25 (23). I'd say that this is closer to the Glenfarclas than it is to the Tullibardine. I'd say that the complexity here is about on par with that of the Glenfarclas, but the depth is greater here. The Glenfarclas is also richer though, despite its lower ABV and obvious mellowing from the air. The air might actually have brought this particular bottle down to more like a 22. Even so, I think I'd probably take the Glenfarclas over this, but it's close. A 21 or 22 here for sure. I would take this over Springbank 21, shockingly. How I wish I had a bottle of Highland Park 18 here to compare. Also, just to have. At the end of the day, this is solid competition for a bottle of Glenfarclas 25 that is past its prime, but not too far past it. Considering that, I'm going to give this a lofty 22. Amazing. With my final sip, I'm loving the balance and complexity here. The bourbon barrel flavor might be a bit strong than I'd like, so maybe some older barrel would have been better. Also, maybe a little bit of oloroso and PX mixed in could have added just a little more complexity and allowed this dram to hit more dimensions. I'm really nit-picking here though. Thank you @pkingmartin for sharing this delightful dram with me! I seem to have the contrarian opinion on this one, but I think that Springbank aged in bourbon barrels is Springbank at its finest!

Nose: musty, raspberry fruit, banana and maybe grape at the end Taste: leather, hay, smoke/peat and vanilla sweetness Finish: creamy long with some spice Big taste, as expected from this distillery. Great complexity for an older 46% ABV.