Springbank 25

2016 edition 900 bottles Sherry, Bourbon & Married in Refill Port Cask Nose is absolutely bonkers. Citrus fruits yet with a red wine finish, rich springbank malt, and a hint of oak. Incredibly intense and powerful. The pallet is very vanilla forward with a huge amount of really mellow wood spice, hints of sherry and perhaps grape like notes from the port finish. The finish lasts forever with that nicely seasoned well done wood notes. This comes up short of exceptional. I normally would comment on how at cask strength it would be amazing, but I'm not sure that's needed. The mouth is creamy, viscous, and the alcohol doesn't seem overly tame. I feel weird saying this but it just doesn't have enough impact from the casks it has been in. I think the time in the port was too short and likely too much of it was in the bourbon casks. Meanwhile the oak has mellowed out some of the springbank funk. Make no mistake, this is a truly outstanding whisky and I expect with time it will open up. For now, it's hard to live up to the hype of the price.