@Jan-Case Yeah well outside my price range! Only 1400 bottles so some retailers such as Whiskey exchange appear to be allocating by ballot. $500+USD seems a bit crazy.. times we live in though..

@Soba45 good to hear. Did you see the new 25y release? Man, that looks super interesting.

A couple of months after reading your review I bought a bottle and killed it in a couple of weeks. It was the newer 100% sherry finish from memory. Really loved it! 4.5 for me. The 2015 18 year pipped it though..sadly I just can't get a bottle of that these days. I believe more bourbon cask influenced so fascinated to see what it's like now. I hear the 2021 15 yr is also fantastic. I had the 2020 year.

That's fascinating @cascode . I think I'm going to rabbit hole on this one...

@ContemplativeFox Distillery capacity figures (at last in Scotland) are given based on maximum theoretical throughput if a distillery is running 24/7. eg, if a distillery can produce 5,000 litres from every run and do a maximum of 7 runs per fortnight then in one year they could make a maximum of 875,000 litres (allowing for a few weeks downtime). However in practice only the biggest and most automated distilleries can do this. In the real world, people have to do the work and a 24/7 process means 3 shifts per day, which is very expensive. So assuming just a single shift the actual capacity is 1/3 of the theoretical. Many other factors also play into this with the upshot is that real-world production is about ¼ of theoretical maximum. In Springbank’s case, given that everything is completely manual and done in-house, production is intentionally kept at 1/6 of theoretical. Grain production is much higher because it is an industrial, automated process that does run 24/7 in order to supply the blended scotch industry, and blends still account for about 95% of whisky production.

@cascode Ah very interesting info, thanks! Good to know we are supporting a whole community with purchases!

That's very interesting @cascode It makes sense to not over produce, but I guess this suggests that they overbuilt and now there is too much space and equipment? Given how expensive scotch is these days, I'm kind of surprised they don't invest their money in barrels that they can fill and leave aging in their spare space to sell high age statements the next time scotch is so popular. Particularly given the modern popularity of malt and how many grain distilleries have shut down, I'm surprised that grain production capacity is so much higher.

@ContemplativeFox Oh, and BTW - most Scottish malt distilleries don't produce at full capacity. The industry could easily produce 4 times as much as it does. Grain production is also not at capacity, but more like 80%

@ContemplativeFox Springbank used to produce a lot of whisky for blending - their business model depended on it until the 80s crash. When that happened they were mothballed for 9 years and had to lay off almost all the staff. The company almost went bankrupt. They managed to survive, but Hedley Wright decided that in future they would only produce single malts for sale under their own label, and some limited malt for blending under the Cadenhead label, which they own, and that production would be limited to a conservative, sustainable level. By retaining all the traditional manual-labour processes in-house (which to any business analyst would look insanely expensive and inefficient) and focusing exclusively on an artisan product, the production philosophy has led them to the point where no marketing at all is necessary and production is balanced to generate good profits whilst employing the maximum number of people. Maturation is a very expensive part of the production cycle, so over-production can be a recipe for disaster for a small distillery. Instead Springbank is in a position where they have fast and almost total sales of every batch, and just enough spirit maturing to meet future needs. Growth is horizontal via Glengyle rather than by expanding the “mother” distillery. I would not be at all surprised if one day Springbank built a 4th new distillery in Campbeltown.

Also, thanks for the well wishes @cascode. We all need them right now.

I didn't know that Springbank deliberately underproduced @cascode . Do you know why that is?

@PBMichiganWolverine @ContemplativeFox The world is watching with great anticipation. I sincerely hope that the outcome, however it rolls, is positive for all you guys, and for the global community. Fingers crossed.

@Soba45 Great ethos all round, which is one reason (apart from the fact they make stunning whisky) that I'm such a fanboi. Springbank are, almost shockingly, genuinely a part of their community and supportive of Campbeltown. They are the biggest employer in the area and the decision to keep every part of production in-house is at least partly dictated by a desire to keep local folks employed. Caol Ila on Islay produces about 6 million litres of distillate a year and has a staff of 6. Springbank produces around 100,000 litres and has a staff of over 80. This is intentional, and Hedly Wright (the owner and director) has even put in place a trust-like arrangement to ensure that after he passes the distillery will always be run conservatively and with input from the community. Glengyle distillery was famously established by Mr Wright to ensure Campbeltown remains a "region" in its own right by having three operating distilleries, however it was also a strategy for ensuring year-round employment for Springbank employees. Springbank has quite a bit of down-time as they only produce 15% of their possible output (this is an intentional strategy) so when it is not running the staff literally just walk down the street a couple of blocks and work at Glengyle instead.

@cascode A lot of stuff has gone up in price but springbank has generally been pretty good at keeping their prices reasonable in the 18 yr and under mark. Good customer ethos!

@PBMichiganWolverine @cascode @Soba45 Was thinking the same thing. If the country hasn't burned to the ground before I can catch a flight out, I'll be seeing you in NZ!

@cascode after today’s election...no matter who wins, we’ll see riots...I should move to NZ too !

@Soba45 It's about US$100 over here. That's it - we're moving to New Zealand.

@ContemplativeFox Geees..$130 that's crazy! I can get it for less NZ dollar wise. I think it's around $85 USD here now.

I would really like to slowly drink through a bottle of this as well, but I'm not quite sure I liked it well enough to pony up the $130 it costs here. I'm largely hiding in bourbon and whatever has been sitting on shelves for months until the tariffs (hopefully) drop.

Thanks for the review! I haven't tried the 15 yet, but I'm going to have to seek it out.

Nice review - that strong spicy heat you mention defines the 15 year old Springbank for me, but I don't notice it in the rest of their core-range. The Benromach similarity is certain - they have always seemed like the east-coast Springbank to me.

Glad you managed to get hold of it :-). It's definitely strong in character! I tried it a few times but never worked through a whole bottle so be interesting to see what you think over time if you have a bottle to work through. Coming to the end of my 18 year bottle which i enjoyed.