Co-Mayo-Paddy
Springbank 15 Year
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed
October 27, 2017 (edited October 21, 2024)
I don't mean to be dramatic but this is the best whiskey I have ever had. The label looks like something from Staples, the cork is well let's just say it's functional and the box is certainly made of car sales mens recycled business cards. The thing is they could ship this in an old sock and I'd still be mesmerized. I'm less than 2 years into my whiskey journey so I'm not entirely sure what is happening here but I know there is a lot to this and that there is something important happening here. There is smoke and sweetness and creaminess and dried dark fruits and there is this mind blowing wave of a flavour I have yet to pin point that hits your palate a second after arrival that is utterly unlike anything I have experienced in any whiskey before. I look forward to trying to peel back the layers here and while it is frustrating for my new and feeble sensibilities to discern I am thrilled to be on the journey. For me this is staggering stuff, utterly perfect. 100/100
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Scoring is fun and arbitrary. If you encounter a better whisky (and you should), just give it 101 out of 100 :)
To be turned on 100 points by a 15 year aged malt costing <$75 is indeed surprising! I'm going to order it now and take up the challenge good sir, I'm hoping it works the same magic but I go into this a nonbeliever hoping to be converted! :)
100 points, dangerous rating. The highest mark I have given so far is 95/100, and I know a lot of reviewers who hesitate using scores above 92. If you encounter a better whisky in the future, there is nowhere to go ;)
Another Springbank convert - welcome to the club, but you must abide by the rules. Rule number 1: Endorse all things Springbank at every opportunity, but remember that their output is small and we don’t want too many people in this life raft :-)
No worries. I get a kick out of it when people really get excited about stuff. :)
@rick_m I know I know! It's sounds absurd. But... For my fairly rudimentary understanding of whiskey it's the first that I have tried that ticks every box but also does so in just the right balance. It's sweet, it's salty, it's peppery, it's viscous, the finish goes on forever and that wave of flavour about a second after it hits your tongue is just like the perfectly hit high note of an epic vocal performance. Perhaps the best way to put it is that this is the first whiskey where I could not come up with single thing I'd tweak.
100/100??? Were you getting a supermodel bj during your tasting session? Just curious. ;)
A very good malt indeed!