ScotchingHard
Springbank 15 Year
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed
December 2, 2019 (edited May 21, 2020)
This review is for a bottle from 2016.
I just cannot bring myself to vacation anywhere cold. I like tropical places. What is the Scotch to have in your swim trunks at these locations? Springbank 15. No ice.
Somehow, the 100% ex-sherry casks that are used to mature this whisky impart flavors of tropical fruits: papayas, strawberry jam, guava.
This is a dirty sherry maturation, which works just fine with Springbank. You get the most funk for your buck if you drink this in a hot environment. A dank, earthy, swampy miasma just rises out of the glass to complement the sweetness. There’s some blue cheese, game meat, and rain-ruined leather in there as well. The Springbank distillate is made for sherry casks. I like this one much better than the 10 or the 18.
Score: ** (unimaginably good)
How much does a bottle cost: $95-130
How much do I think a bottle is worth: $180
117.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@cascode muchas gracias kimasabe!
@Soba45 Oh please no - don't even think about it!
@cascode could be worse. They could introduce digital loot boxes so you could buy likes, have your avatar dressed in the latest fashion, be promoted to the top of the you should follow list. Hey maybe if they monetize then we 'influencers' should cash in..they can pay for every review, like or view like YouTube:-)
@cascode Interesting. Thanks!
@dhsilv2 Indeed, I don't want some naff crown on my avatar. @Generously_Paul The sense of community and amateur tastings are the best part of this site. I could happily lose the official tastings and scores altogether (huh, in fact I'd pay money not to have to see them). @1901 I'd prefer to have all of those great ideas for enhancements you've mentioned available to everyone. @Rick_M & @PBMichiganWolverine It's not monetization or even profit that I object to - it's the monetization strategy. If they had made it possible to *optionally* donate or subscribe to Distiller with no special level of access I'd happily support them with $10 a month. I pay way more than that to support several YouTube vloggers via Patreon. The nagware feel of advertising and the elitism of "Pro" membership just grates with me. Grumble, grumble - get off my lawn you kids ...
@Anthology Springbank currently uses two systems (and used others in the past). On some products there will be printed information on the heel of the bottle with a clearly indicated date in British format (i.e. 7/5/2015 would mean the 7th of May 2015). If there is no information on the bottle itself look through the bottle at the back of the front label and you will see a code in this format: YY/DDD (eg 15/127) The first two digits are the year of bottling and the last three are the day of the year where 001 equals January 1 and you just count sequentially. This is called Julian format and it was widely used in the scotch whisky industry until recently, and some of the more traditional distilleries still use it. 15/127 in my example would also translate as 7th of May 2015 (there is a handy converter online at http://www.longpelaexpertise.com.au/toolsJulian.php). Hope that helps - and just as an item of interest I have a bottle of Springbank's Hazelburn Rundlets & Kilderkins 10 year old that has the Julian date code 14/001 which means some dedicated person bottled it on New Years Day in 2014!
Hey ScotchingHard, I’m eyeing a bottle of the SB15 at a local seller. Where on the bottle or packaging box can I find the year it was released (I.e. “bottle from 2016”)?
@Generously_Paul I’d sign up if they get rid of the badge...or make it optional
@cascode I’d gladly pay the $.83333/month for the information, opinions, sense of community (even though my participation has waned greatly in the last few months), and personal attention the dev team has shown us over the years
@dhsilv2 likewise..not sure I’d want a badge. But I’m okay in seeing the ads
Not sure I'm on board for having a badge that says I paid. Can I pay more and not have one?
@cascode I'd be on board for Pro if it unlocked nice new features like prioritising /sorting reviews based on those you follow, and export option, or a way to match/grade your preferences with another user (e.g. "of the 65 spirits you both rated you have a 73% rating match). I have seen similar in other sites I use and subscribe to.
@cascode - i agree with @PBMichiganWolverine. $10 is a nice show of appreciation for Distiller’s efforts in providing this forum, in addition to info that would otherwise be hard to find.
@ScotchingHard - cigars are also better in tropical places. :) Nice review!
@cascode I think it’s a good thing. They need to start monetizing this, right? It costs to have a desktop version, an app, data, contributors, etc. personally I’m okay with the ads.
Pro level access is $10 (US I presume) per annum and removes the ads, gives you a "Pro Badge" (oh, yay) and access to "upcoming features". Hmm.
@Soba45 Just checked and on the i-thingy app I don't see them either, but I usually log into Distiller from my desktop, and there the "Join Pro" option appears on the main menu bar and if you look at a particular expression entry there are adds in a couple of places with a note that you can remove them by signing up for "Pro" access. I'm not sure what I think about this.
@cascode Not sure as I'm on the android app so haven't seen any advertising.
@Everyone Er, just as a matter of interest, apropos of nothing, when did the advertising banners and the "Join Pro" option appear on Distiller? Have I been blind? Did it happen when I was overseas and somewhat out of touch?
Great review
Good review and I agree. My favorite SB whiskey. Perfect balance of Springbank funk, peat and sherry.