Thanks to Telex for sending me several Springbank samples, which allowed me to do a vertical tasting last night and get a really good sense of the distillery's character. Springbank has a signature flavor that I first noticed in the 10-year and now, having tried four other expressions, has dominated every single one, particularly on the nose. Springbanks always have a chalky, dry aroma, which I'd liken to the scent of gravel or -- when combined with brine -- to the scent of river rocks. Minerality might be the best single term for it, although I have a hard time describing it. It's medicinal, like the coating of adult vitamins (remember that first time when you switch from kids' chewables to the chalky adult vitamins and have to learn to swallow them whole?). In addition to that signature, the 12-year edition has some pear and crisp fruit and an underlayer of vanilla frosting. The first sip's going to be pretty prickly because of the high alcohol content, but it quickly transforms into a complex mixture of that minerality, wood, spice, brine, menthol cigarette, and honey. Another common characteristic of Springbanks is that they are not sweet whiskies, even compared to Islay scotches, which are smoky as all get-out but also have some rich fruit flavors in the mix. I do not get much fruit in any Springbank I've tasted, so the palate is a little heavy on the bitter and earthy side of the spectrum for me and suffers from a lack of ideal balance for my tastes. The finish has similar notes of brine, spice, a bit of barbecue smoke, and then that final dose of minerality. I see in the description that there is a significant proportion of sherry casks in this expression. To be honest, I did not get much sherry in this dram, so would not have guessed that was in the mix before learning that fact.