Springbank Tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 15 February 2023. Whisky #4. Tasting of a bottle from batch 14/12/21 bottle code 21/207. Nose: Earthy, farmyard-fermented hard apple cider, acetone, lemon drops, juniper (!), anise (!). The smell of the sea around a small wooden-boat shipyard: brine, diesel fuel, tar and anti-foul paint. There is also a very light jasmine floral tone flitting around the edges. What a great nose! Palate: Sweet, earthy and slightly briny arrival with grilled lemons and unfiltered olive oil on fresh-baked bread. All it needs is some charcoal-grilled pork and … yes! There it is. A little more sweetness emerges mid-palate together with some ginger and pepper spice. The texture is creamy but there is also an almost spritzy quality. Wonderful. Finish: Long. Crisp cereal, fruity malt and spices (anise again and some peppermint) with stone-fruits making a late appearance. What a great whisky. Really excellent, and for me the best thing we tasted on the night that is commercially available. It is highly distillate driven with the ex-bourbon casks used for maturation being barely detectable. I bet they were all refill barrels, which has really allowed the spirit to sing without interruption. Water initially kills the nose stone dead but don’t panic. Leave it to rest and you will find that after five minutes or so the bouquet deepens and broadens wonderfully. After a while it’s like walking into a veritable cave of aromas. Similarly, the palate loses absolutely nothing but gains integration and depth from subtle dilution. I’d strongly recommend a dash of water for this whisky, but it can drown easily so just add a few drops. This was produced using Belgravia barley sourced from a local Campbeltown farm and the staff at Springbank hated making these Local Barley spirit runs. The grain is apparently very difficult to work with and it causes multiple problems throughout the production cycle. This whisky briefly appeared for sale here a few weeks ago but almost instantly disappeared. Initially it was AUD$230 (which I would have paid in a heartbeat) but it is now trading for well over $1,000 - a price worthy of naught but derision. “Excellent” : 89/100 (4.75 stars)