After traipsing around Scotland for the briefest of days, my wife and I joined friends in Campbeltown for our stay with Springbank. The drams below were part of the welcome tasting we enjoyed after arriving at Springbank’s Stillhouse, the small Bed and Breakfast, or guest house that they run for groups attending events and multi-day programs at the distillery.

While the tasting was of course informal, and mostly an opportunity for some convivial conversation, our local whisky group could not help but occasionally slip into tasting mode and start sharing, suggesting, or teasing each other with tasting notes.

The only dram not reviewed here was the core Longrow none-aged stated product; I thought I had previously reviewed it, though it turns out I just enjoyed the bottle and never did. No matter, by that point in the evening my taste buds were turning in and shutting down. It was much as I remembered it and still delicious.

Whisky Details: Hazelburn 10 Year, 46%

Nose: Light and refreshing, slightly creamy like whipped salted butter with dried grass, oak, gentle fruity marmalade, and slightly nutty cereal grains.

Palate: Medium to light-bodied, buttery and a touch metallic or mineral with cereals and hints of fruit that grew into green apples, limes, and lime leaves— refreshing and balanced.

Finish: Medium to short with honey and cereals.

Score: 5-6 (76)

Mental Image: Breakfast Whisky

Narrative & Notes: Apparently some once referred to this as a “Lady’s Whisky” as a shorthand for its light character and gentle mouthfeel— a term that seemed to turn off women who liked more robust fare and men who balked at enjoying a whisky that questioned their manhood with its light and gentle profile.  So, breakfast whisky it is, and I like that description of it; something easy to start the day, or begin a tasting.  As the women in our local whisky group are nearly all major peat-heads with a love of eccentric drams, they appreciated not being unduly assigned something so light.

Enjoyable and relaxing; no deep thoughts or concentration required for a whisky such as this.

Whisky Details: Kilkerran 12 Year, 46%

Nose: Wispy smoke, hints of dried fruits, earth, autumn with fallen leaves and dry vegetation, acrylic paints and a touch of clay.

Palate: Medium to light-bodied, wispy smoke, a touch of tobacco among dry leaves and autumn vegetation, chicory and pepper, hints of baking chocolate and leather.

Finish: Medium-length with smoke and tropical fruits, more earth over time.

Score: 7 (82)

Mental Image: Dreaming of Summer in the Fall

Narrative & Notes: Though I reviewed quite a few Kilkerran earlier this year and I have been a fan of the whisky produced at Glengyle for some years, I somehow managed to never try its singular core product before now.

It was no surprise that I enjoyed this, it was well-balanced and easy to sip with plenty of the autumn vibes that I love to find on Kilkerran. A good bit of bright spice lingered in the background, elevating some of those earlier notes as a touch of chocolate and leather provided a nice cask-driven complement.  A lovely dram to sit back with and relax, a bit more complex than the Hazelburn, but just as suited for casual no nonsense dramming.

Whisky Details: Glentauchers 14 Year (2009) Cadenhead’s, 50%

Nose: Lemon meringue emerged from creamy citrus notes with a touch of youthful pepper; calming and herbal chamomile tea sweetened with honey, Nilla wafer cookies with caramel and pudding.

Palate: Medium-bodied, chamomile tea offered an herbal first step sweetened with honey; vanilla sponge cake, pudding, caramel, and a touch of banana— water brought the fruit out more but never quite hit banana cream pie.

Finish: Medium-length and soft with a touch of cream between citrus and malty pastries.

Score: 6-7 (79)

Mental Image: Tea Cakes and Honey

Narrative & Notes: Gentle, friendly, and fairly no nonsense, this young Glentauchers was well-rounded and balanced with delightfully creamy sugars and just enough citrus to keep it from coming off as cloying.  It was still a touch sweet for my taste and I imagined the whisky would be delightful in an old fashioned or a high ball with some ginger syrup.  It was fine to drink straight up, though I could not help but imagine that its true virtues were to be found in a cocktail— maybe just a few cubes of ice on a warm summer porch, an imagine that felt like a distant memory in the cold damp of historic Campbeltown.

Whisky Details: Springbank 15 Year, 46%

Nose: Dried fruits and leather with Sharpie markers and cinnamon, molasses cookies and brown sugar paired with anise to give the fleeting impression of sweet marinated meats, perhaps a touch of char siu.

Palate: Medium-bodied, waxed new leather with an earthiness that ventured toward mushroom; more dried fruits with musty dunnage lingered as dates and wispy smoke or char drew attention toward the sweet influence of the cask.

Finish: Medium-length with brown sugar, caramel, and dried fruits.

Score: 7 (84)

Mental Image: Holiday Cookies for the Woodland Elves

Narrative & Notes: Our little welcoming tasting continue with one of the more elusive core products from Sprinbak: the 15 Year. Our handy guide explained that the distillery shop only sets out three or four bottles of the 15 Year per day and that they typically sell out instantaneously and it is no guarantee they will have any to put out.

I can see why there is so much demand; this was a massive step up from my recollection of the 10 Year, a fact I was happy to confirm a few days later.  It was dirtier and mustier, but still delightfully fruity presenting a good balance between various elements. Certainly a whisky I would love to have on hand to enjoy regularly, but I will not be striking out to chase down bottles or pay the secondary prices these demand.

Whisky Details: Knockdhu 10 Year (2013), Cadenhead’s 54.3%

Nose: Dried fruits, strawberry pie, licorice, hints of rhubarb; big PX cask fruits with an underlying herbal spice that verged on medicinal at times with mallow and horehound.

Palate: Medium to full-bodied, barbecue spices and brown sugar with an herbal undercurrent; caramelized tomato paste, dried fruits, more apple sauce toward the end with hickory and cedar wood.

Finish: Long and lingering with brown sugar and herbal spices.

Score: 7 (84)

Mental Image: Medicinal Pie Shop

Narrative & Notes: I was split between awarding this or the Springbank 15 the blue ribbon, gold star, or spotlight as the best dram of the tasting.  The Springbank had an undeniable charm and versatility, whereas this was all eccentricities— the kind you find with single cask products whose rough edges, blemishes, and virtues are all on display. This had a ton of the herbal spice I expected from the distillery, which the cask influence pushed toward barbecue sauces or marinades.  The caramelized tomato paste notes were rich and deep with a slightly burnt quality, a flavor note that I rarely encounter, but treasure when I do.

Overall, this would not be something I would grab down to drink very often, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Perhaps more a whisky for sharing with friends than enjoying at the end of a long day.