Springbank 1993 25 Year Cask #94 (ImpEx Collection)

The nose is bold and rich with powdered sugar dusted tropical fruits front and center that fades to mildly sour and sweet red berries with a light touch of sea salt followed by mild pipe smoke, slight rocky minerality and freshly baked pastries followed by dusty old books with low ethanol burn. The taste is a rich oily mouthfeel starting with caramelized tropical fruits with a pinch of cayenne pepper followed by balsamic strawberries and mild pipe tobacco smoke that fades to rocky minerality and charred hay bales that transitions to dusty leather-bound books with medium ethanol burn. The finish is long, leading with a moderate peppery spice that quickly fades to caramelized pineapple and mango that fades to the background of mildly sour red berries before transitioning into mild baking spices and dusty leather-bound books. Overall, this is a rich and phenomenal dram that has an enchanting nose, but the palate has an ever so slightly sourness that throws the balance off for me along with a finish that is a bit too spicy upfront before fading to those well-aged Springbank fruits and dusty books. Side by side with my OB 25-year Springbank (2020), the Impex is bolder and richer, but the OB 25-year comes together with a mild yet flawless balance without any of the jagged edges that seem present in the Impex edition. Personally, I can’t decide which I prefer and am settling on rating them the same score. At over $800, this is a dream dram to try that costs far less than OB 25-year Springbanks today and is up to the discretion of the buyer if it is worthy of the cost or not. Thankfully, this was a sample that was very generously provided by @ShatteredArm for me to try.

Had been eyeballing this since it appeared on the shelf at my local a year and a half ago, but never pulled the trigger because the only reviews I'd read were mediocre. A combination of a solid bonus and the fact that I saw Springbank 21 at a store for a whopping $1300 (and Local Barley for $600) led me to believe it's finally time to pick this up (Springbank 21 is great, but if you pay >$1k for it you're either a billionaire or an idiot). My expectation from reviews was that the Springbank character is hidden behind the Sherry cask (which is ironically how I feel about the acclaimed 15). To my pleasant surprise, this still absolutely smells and tastes like Springbank. The sherry is obvious, but the light peat and Springbank funk are present. It's a bit musty, creamy, and fruity, without being *too* fruity. The custard note that I only get from peated malts aged >20 years is present, despite the light peat. In short, I was expecting this to be a waste of money, but it's actually one of the best drams I've had. When I've spend >$500 on a bottle and don't just taste regret, I know it's special.