PBMichiganWolverine
Springbank 10 Year
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed
October 28, 2016 (edited November 30, 2019)
My whisky Friday is starting early...noon-ish. Don't judge me...was taking the afternoon off before my kids' bday party this evening...will need this before we do Elmo and other fuzzy creatures. BTW...is it just me, or is Barney way too touchy feely for his own good? I suppose it's better than what we had as kids (Shaggy who looks like a drug addict, and Donald Duck who goes around without any pants). Anyway...on to Campbeltown today. So...Springbank is a bit of a unique whisky. It does its own floor to bottle, without chill filtration or coloring. And a 2.8 distillation. Not 2. Not 3. But, 2.8. it's just to mess with us. No, actually, this is because they do the third distillation using parts of the first and second. About 80% of first, 20% of second, mathematically comes out somehow as 0.8 more. I think...don't quote me on that. But...either way, sounds like a lot of extra work, and it's really worth it...this 10 year old is simply really well made. It's as if a Balvenie, Talisker, and Caol Ila had a threesome, and this was the outcome. Salty, sweet, briny, and smoky. For about $50, I think it's worth it. I added a few drops of water, let it sit out while watching my DVR of last Sunday's Walking Dead. (I'm so glad I had this while watching that, in fact probably could've used something stronger. Never will be able to see a baseball bat the same way). Net/net...this is HIGHLY recommended. VFM...for a 10 yr old, $50 might be a bit on the high side, but on par to other equally well made 10 yr olds like Ardbeg and Laphroaig. I'd say it's priced fairly considering quality. There's a fair price you pay for quality (Lagavulin 16, Ardbeg and Laphroaig 10), and an unfair price you pay for assumed quality (like $3000 for a Yamazaki Sherry 2016!!! I can't draw an equation where whisky quality is worth $3k, unless it's made of actual molten gold). This, though, falls clearly in fairly priced for quality.
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What's a fair price? In my opinion, the price corresponds to the intrinsic quality of the bottle till a certain threshold is reached - maybe $100-150? Beyond that, you pay for rarety and 'assumed value'. The quality isn't necessarily increasing. This malt, however, is worth every penny.
If you like the 10, try Springbank 15 if you haven't already.
Geology: I'm a huge Springbank fan now. Budgeting a bit to get me some 21 yr old Springbank. And a cap. Can't be a fanboy without a cap...
Pranay - thank you for the excellent description. This one is on my want list now!
Excellent review Pranay... I absolutely agree with you: Springbank 10 is one of the best bottlings at this young age. Quality has its prize, but it's perfectly justified in this case.
It's not just you; Barney has Chester the Molester written all over his purple face. Great review; I really like this one.