Whisky: Springbank 24 Year (1995), Sansibar Cask 284 for Whisky Live Taipei

Country/Region: Scotland/Campbeltown

ABV: 50.8%

Cask: Rum

Age: 24 Years (Distilled 1995, Bottled 2019)

Nose: Citrus and tropical fruit candies, lemon peel, coastal salt, dried grass, weathered oak, wispy smoke.

Palate: Medium-bodied, oily and slightly waxy, tropical fruit syrups, acrid grill ash, metallic iron, dried grass, hints of mint, a blanket of sea salt and sunny beaches.

Finish: Medium-length with tropical fruits, old wood, and maritime notions.

Score: 7+

Mental Image: Beach Bum meets Beachcomber

Narrative & Notes: The aroma was all sweet fruit and sunshine with a bag of lemon peel gummies, li hing mui, pineapple cakes, soursop and guava candies, and a salty-sweet sea breeze.  Further in, I encountered more subtle coastal notions of dunes, dried grass, weathered oak— old picnic tables or pavilions— and wispy smoke or hints of old ash pits.  Medium-bodied, the oily and slightly waxy malt had a lovely weight as it bloomed with tropical fruit candies and coastal salinity.  Behind mango, guava, pineapple, and lemon peel candies were a handful of slightly acrid grill ash and a metallic iron bite.  Dried grass with mint and a touch of camphor appeared at times, while a salty coastal undercurrent of sun-bleached coral and driftwood ran throughout.  The finish was medium-length with tropical fruits, old wood, and maritime notions.

The rum cask beautifully accentuated the latent tropical fruit notes of the whisky and paired wonderfully with an undercurrent of coastal salinity, minerals, and wood.  Everything was well-balanced and well-integrated, though I often felt as if I were waiting for a crescendo, the beat to drop, or some climactic twist to occur.  The malt was delicious, but at $750, I wanted more from the whisky— and that seems to be the financial gap between almost every Springbank and my taste.  There have been a few that had me clutching at my wallet, but this, while very good, was not quite on that dreamy level.

Overall, a delightful whisky I am glad I shared with friends, but the price-conscious side of me would never seek this out.

Image Credit: Raygun, check out his review on maltrunners!

About Springbank

Characterful and distinctive; the robust younger spirit transforms into mellow coastal meadows with a soft tropical aesthetic over the decades. Popular and expensive, the high quality of the malt has vastly been outstripped by the secondary prices at which it sells.

The titan of Campbeltown, Springbank Distillery, began operations in 1828 and maintains a lot of old-school tradition in production, from in-house floor malting of barley to a mix of direct oil-fired stills and worm tub condenser. Yet, for a producer with a reputation for an old-fashioned approach to whisky production, the brand has been a trendsetter through its diversification into retail and bottling operations (no surprise that many independent bottling companies now have their own distilleries) and its focus on nurturing its reputation as a single malt.

The current strength of the Springbank brand owes a lot to its visibility as a single malt and its status as a forerunner to the trend among scotch consumers for displays of brand loyalty. Hence, even core products from the distillery sell out quickly and can be hard to find. Production at the distillery can barely keep up with the demand. That will likely continue as the distillery only operated at about 20% in 2020 and only produces about 200,000 liters of Springbank per annum. The barley used for Springbank is malted on site, peated between 12-15 ppm, fermented for ~100 hours, and distilled 2 ½ times.

Style: Maritime, Metallic, Citrus, Subtle Coconut/Tropical Elements