Soba45
Springbank 25
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed
July 27, 2019 (edited June 28, 2021)
I love the 15 year which at $85 USD here in NZ I think is the best VFM springbank. The 18 year at $120 is the runner up. The 21 year is bonkers though at more than $200USD. So when I saw a sample of the discontinued 25 year for $30 I thought yeah I'll have a crack. So was it worth it? A yes.... for the experience. It's a great drop, not much port coming through, definite orange peel, tobacco and pepper as the MoM reviewed, lovely on the mid palate but aftertaste is short. I personally prefer the more in your face rougher 15 year especially for the price. It's interesting that often with my favorite distilleries and the peated stuff e.g. Laphroaig, Talisker, Caol Ila, Ardbeg and now Springbank I find the oldest stuff good but not better than the middle aged brethren. It's almost like a bell curve for me when it comes to preference with 15 to 18 years or a blend of older and younger being the sweet spot especially once VFM is factored in. Still the longer I linger on this one I think it'd be nice to work through a bottle but no way I'd pay the price! It is as the previous review mentioned missing the Springbank 'funk' I like.
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@Slainte-Mhath I suppose it's a good thing as if I thought the 25 yr statements were miles better than their younger brethren it would probably slightly ruin the drinking experience for me of the younger ones knowing that there is something i enjoy more out of financial reach!
@Soba45 That's pretty similar to my own experience. A very nice drop... but not quite what you would expect for the money. Given that I gave Springbank 25 just one point more than the 10-year-old, well, the curse of being successful.
@cascode Yup fully agree. Yeah I really like Mortlachs funky flavor and I thought I had managed to even get a Maltman IB sample but looking at my list it must have dropped off my MoM list somewhere along the way as I can't find it. Hopefully Dramfest 2020 they'll have some :-)
@Soba Re Springbank, I'm of the opinion that it peaks around 18 years old, but the 10, 15, 18 and 12 yo (CS) all have their merits. The 21 and 25 are very good, but like very old Glenfarclas they can lose as much as they gain with age, and you end up paying for time and nothing else.
@Soba45 If you can still find it the Maltman Mortlach 22 is an outstanding dram. I tried it from a sample initially and then bought 2 bottles to put into the "retirement stash". AUD$200 at the time, and worth every cent.
@Soba45 i just had their Hazelburn 14 Oloroso—-for the price, great vfm.
@PBMichiganWolverine Another thing I'd love to try..any Maltman bottling. Always hear great things.
@PBMichiganWolverine It's one thing I haven't tried and want to an IB SB. I do love their mid age range 12 - 14 year finished ones in their and the Hazelburn label.
@PBMichiganWolverine @Whiskali Yeah definitely not worth even half of that. 15 and 18 is where it's at personally imho. There is just so much great stuff out there priced so much better. A lot of the older stuff just seems to trade on scarcity and prestige. All the 25 year OBs I've had I've preferred their younger siblings.
@Whiskali MasterofMalt my once go to for samples (until customs and freight charges got too exorbitant!). Great way to try the rarer more expensive bottles. I've got to try OB 25 year olds of Bunnahabhain, Talisker, Tullibardine, Mannochmore as well as a host of closed distilleries, hard to get or discontinued stuff and just random stuff from round the world.
@Whiskali it was an IB by Maltman. I posted the review here—-full sherry matured for 24yr Springbank is quite a treat
Also @Soba45 where did you find a sample of the SB25 for $30? That is great deal compared to some of the sample prices I see for expensive bottles like that.
@PBMichiganWolverine was it an OB or IB?
@Whiskali I had a really good 24 yr old Springbank matured fully in sherry—was pricey, but was incredibly delectable
@Soba45 & @PBMichiganWolverine I hope to taste the 25 at some point but agree that $500 is too much. I did recently shell out for the 21; that value equation made more sense to me. Too rich to open in the summer but I plan to pop it in the winter, likely around the holidays.
This is well over $500...at 4 stars, the VFM is lousy. Their 18 is probably the pinnacle