Whisky Review: Springbank 12 Cask Strength
The Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown is unique among Scotland’s malt whisky distilleries for many reasons. They are one of the last remaining distilleries in Campbeltown, a region which was once considered to be the center of the whisky world. They are one of the few major distilleries who are independently owned (they are currently run by the 5th generation of the Mitchell family, who originally founded Springbank in 1828). And they are one of the only distilleries who perform every step of the whisky making process, from malting the barley to bottling the spirit, on site. These unique qualities, along with the idea that they do everything “the right way” (i.e., non chill-filtered and natural color), has made Springbank a favorite among single malt whisky enthusiasts, myself included.
Springbank is actually one of three lines of whisky that the distillery produces—Longrow and Hazelburn being the other two. Each line has its own unique qualities. Springbank is peated to a medium level and distilled two and a half times (another of Springbank’s unique peculiarities, as not many distillers use such a technique). Longrow is heavily peated and distilled two times. And Hazelburn is non-peated and distilled three times.
The Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength is a limited bottling that is released in batches every year (usually there are two batches per year) and reportedly consists of 70% sherry cask matured whisky (whereas the entry level Springbank 10 year consists mostly of bourbon barrel matured whisky). If you want to know a bottle’s batch number, you can make the determination based on the ABV listed on the bottle. I believe that my bottle, which is bottled at 52.2% ABV, is batch #5, which was released in 2012 (based on a list I found via Google).
I’ve been a fan of Springbank’s 10 year old for a few years now. It’s a whisky that, to me, embodies what single malt scotch whisky is all about. If someone asked me what scotch whisky tastes like, I would give them a taste of Springbank 10. I’ve long wanted to try the 12 year old cask strength, but it is not an easy bottle to find near me. In fact I’ve never seen a bottle here in Middle Tennessee. Luckily I managed to find a bottle last time I was in Kentucky, and I’m very glad I bought one. I should have bought two.
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Campbeltown
ABV: 52.2%
Non chill-filtered
Nose: Wow, this has a big, fresh sherry nose. Nuts. Dried fruits. Oak. Apricot. Earthy, vegetal peat smoke. Citrus. Fresh ginger. Asparagus. Spicy chocolate. So much complexity. So many flavors. It has the nose of a much older whisky. It’s also quite powerful (due to the ABV) and really needs a few drops of water to open up.
Palate: Chocolate. Nuts—macadamia in particular, but walnuts too. Dried fruit. Raisins. Malted milk balls. Coconut. Banana. Peat smoke. Cinnamon. Baking spices. Rose. Turkish delight. Crystallized ginger. Anise. Yeah, there’s a lot going on here. Much like the nose, the palate has tons of complexity. I find new notes with every sip. Like the nose, water is needed to really bring out all of the depth and complexity.
Finish: Dried tropical fruits. Cinnamon candy. Salt water taffy… or maybe Laffy Taffy. Some kind of taffy. Nougat. More nuts. Dried cherries. Raisins. Sweet Tarts. Anise. A touch of herbal tea. Really nice, but kind of medium in length. Wish it was longer.
Overall: Wonderful. Incredibly complex. Fresh, yet mature—the casks used to age this whisky were clearly of high quality (which is such an important part of making a great whisky). This dram has a little bit of everything—here you can find elements of every style/region of Scottish single malts, so long as you take your time enjoying it.
The only real criticism I can find is that the finish is not as long as I would like, and the parts that do stick around are not the best parts of the palate. But it’s not like the finish is bad or short—it’s just not as great as the nose and palate. It can also be a bit tricky to add the right amount of water. In my opinion this does require at least a little water to fully enjoy—even a little more water than I would normally add to most cask strength malts. But if you go overboard with the water, you can easily drown the wonderful assortment of flavors, so it’s best to add only a drop at a time.
If the Springbank 10 year old is a wonderful introduction to single malt whisky for a newcomer (as I believe it is), this is truly a next level malt for whisky veterans. It takes a little more effort than some more straightforward single malts, but it’s time well spent. If you are lucky enough to have a bottle of this one, take your time and savor it.
Buy again? Absolutely, whenever I can find it.
Score: 92/100
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
