Springbank 21 Year Old Black Ceramic

Springbank 10 Year Old

Here’s Springbank’s 10 year old. It’s my opinion that not all 10-12 year old introductory malts are the best ambassadors for their distilleries. When you’re offering your most affordable, and likely best-selling OB to the world, not only do you need it to be of a certain quality, but you need it to embody the house style. In that context,...

Score 86/100

Springbank 1997 12 Year Old Claret Wood

Frank McHardy’s statement ‘We don’t do finishes, we mature’, is not entirely true, is it? This Claret Wood was matured on a refill bourbon barrel, before it got a finish (ok, a three year long finish) on fresh Claret (Bordeaux) wine casks. The soften the wine influence, it was re-casked again for another two years in charred casks. Seems rather...

Score 89/100

Springbank 2002/2017 / 14 Year Old / Bourbon Wood

This Springbank was distilled in November 2002, matured in a mix of first-fill and refill ex-bourbon barrels, and bottled in August 2017. The total outturn was 9,000 bottles. The nose is rich and lush and starts with loads and loads of vanilla flavours, wow! Then notes of caramel slowly develop, followed by apricots and a hint of honey. The palate...

Score 86/100

Springbank 1997 12 Year Old Claret Wood

This is a Springbank limited release, distilled in May of 1997. It was matured in refill bourbon barrels, then finished in fresh claret (Bordeaux) casks for 3 years and then another 2 years in re-charred casks (to smooth out the wine influence). Nose: immediately different. Rich, sirupy with a fresh, fruity side (redcurrant, raspberry, melon) but...

Score 88/100