Springbank 18 Year

Holy moly....that’s awesome.... Nose: iodine, smokiness, malt, butter cookies, cotton ball? Cheddar cheese! Holy moly! Tasting: quite oily, I can’t get it as I’m quite drunk... Finishing: oaky, malty, raisins? This whisky like a mystery, I cannot get the whole profile..... but truly amazing.

I'm really glad I kept both the Longrow 18, 2018 and this Springbank 18, 2015 edition back from auction. Mr Excellent has nailed a lot of the flavour descriptors. Oily, ripe banana, coconut, pepper, cinnamon, and more going on. I had a think a while back what my favourite distilleries were. A fair number have dropped back due to quality/crap cheap NAS (Talisker) and poor blending (Glendronach) from my top few. Springbank (incl. Longrow, Hazelburn) however I now declare is solidly top spot. Have they let me down, yes. Particularly an over sulphured bomb. There is only one bottle of any spirit i have bought out of the however many hundreds i have returned and that was a massively sulphur bombed Hazelburn 14 Sherry casked. I LOVED the first one I had but man the next two... One i left open for 3 or 4 months, barely drank any and gave the rest away. The next year I was like na this is even worse so I returned it. And this is from a man who loves a bit of sulphur e.g. Mortlach. Anyhow they are my no. 1 as despite sometimes severe quality control issues they always have best intentions and cam deliver some absolute stunners at a (21 and 25 year aged stmts aside) fair price. It's not in their DNA to ramp up production, go mass mkt and pump out crap. If they pump out crap it's still good intentions (just sloppy quality ctl - seriously do they taste each run??). Anyhow let it open for a few weeks and enjoy. Another SB stunner. Update: Months later and close to bottle kill i'm raising this to a ultra rare 4.75. I've bought hundreds of bottles and had thousands of samples and it's extremely rare I see a bottle all the way through. Mostly i give it away as i either go off it, it degrades and or i get bored. Not this one, this I will mourn. I love the flavour profile, complexity and most importantly perfect balance that oxegen and time just has not degraded. There maybe drams I have thought more special than this but very few that have consistently delivered and kept me wanting to go back to every single time..never once have I felt not in the mood for this dram.

banana and melon, a bit of smoke

Nose: Fruit funk (overly ripe bananas and coconut), salted caramel, barrel ding and black pepper, and a gentle smoke note. Palate: Tart fruits. Rich dates, raisins, even almost a raspberry. The coconut shows up as does the overly ripe banana funk, but in a good way. The tart fruits open into a dark chocolate and salted caramel and finishes with lingering fruits and a gentle smoked finish. Light black pepper notes stay with the entire sip, almost like a texture. Final notes: This whisky completely surprised me. I have a strong love for many of Campbeltown's offerings and this is currently my favorite. I was expecting a much bigger peat explosion but was pleasantly surprised, and yes, I love peat bombs. The palate and nose are incredibly rich and oily and stay with you long after a sip. In a way, it gives a slight rum impression with the coconut and banana funk but it's absolutely lovely. I think this is a bottle that any Campbeltown lover should have in their collection and honestly is a perfect expression to introduce any whisky lover into the region. Realistically, I'd prefer to rate this truly as a 4.6 rather than a 4.5, but Distiller does not give me that option and I wouldn't particularly call it a 4.75. If a cask strength bottling was ever released (if it hasn't been), that would be a bottle I would equally be interested in to explore it's purest form. Overall it's an excellent whisky to explore on it's own, however it does a remarkable job of holding it's own if you were pairing with food or a cigar. I'd recommend a heavier, oily cigar with darker caramel notes or something with umami notes. Personal recommendations would be a RoMa Craft Aquitaine or D&T Red Meat Lovers cigar. Disclaimer: I did not see a distinction on here between the first and second edition of the Springbank 18 bottlings. The bottle I am reviewing is the first edition.

It smells fairly rich and quite fruity with the usual salt and mineral notes. This is surprisingly mild. There is a little spice but there is also a lot of mineral. Peat and smoke make a prominent appearance, but the fruit stands out too. There is some cherry, raisin, and orange. This is a big disappointment considering how good the younger expressions are. The richness is there but the fullness is a bit lacking. There is absolutely no gross bitter alcohol note to be found but there is also nothing rich and delightful here. The flavors are broadly solid but they aren't delightful. There is way too much salt and mineral, but the fruitiness keeps this in sippable territory. The flavor gets a bit off at times but it is still somewhat better than Green Spot. Honestly, it tastes like a Peated Irish whiskey. This is absolutely not worth the price.

Online drammers club pour. Very good, though not best of the tasting. Nose: Toffee, Red Apple, Mint Chocolate, Strawberries, Flowers, Citrus, Apricots, Smoke, Blackberries, Orange, Walnuts, Vanilla, Almonds, Pineapple, Mango Palate: Dried Fruit, Chocolate, Maple, Brown Sugar, Pepper, Dates, Prunes, Raisins, Almonds, Hazlenuts, Grilled Meats Finish: Lemon Cake, Chocolate, Toffee, Dates, Raisins, Pepper, Citrus, Beef, Cherries

Nose: the same spice and dry summer hay you know from the classic 10y, some minerals (beach sand), walnuts, tomato and some fresh cuts stone fruit with vanilla. To be honest - not much different than the 10y really. Palate: oh ok well the palate and finish are much more intense than the 10y. Wow, really an improvement in the Springbank palette. Super sweet and malty, ginger, lots of mixed dry spices (garam masala, cumin, megnut, juniper, all spice and stuff like that). What a rollercoaster of tastes. I really like it. It’s a nicely put together whisky and interesting in contrast with the younger expression. But to be very honest the 10y isn’t worse really and I must say I like them equally. The 18 is more mellow and not as aggressive. It is different - yes - but both are equally good for what they are. I’m not sure if it is necessary to try the popular 15y as well but I will see what other Springbanks there are - the character is really unique and likeable.

Nose- Raspberries, bananas with brown sugar, honey, wave of peat, followed by the signature cambletown funk Palate- honey initially, blending into bright fruits, chili oil, earthy peat, olive oil, vanilla Finish- long, spicy finish with notes of chili spice, vanilla, and ripe fruits Really good whiskey overall. The nose is full of bright fruits, along with complimentary notes of bananas and honey. The palate starts with a wave of honey and fruits, which then moves to a short bout of peat, and is overtaken by a wave of chili spice. The finish is dominated by the spice and my only complaint is that the finish becomes a little simplistic.