Springbank Single Cask 12 Year Burgundy
Hunting for specific expressions of single malt scotch whisky in the US is a bit of a fool’s errand. To a certain extent, we’re at the mercy of the distributers. There are lots of bourbon hunters out there—people who go from town to town stopping in every little liquor store they can find in order to try to snag a bottle of something rare. And if you follow some of those people, you’d be surprised at what they find. But hunting for scotch in the US is a little different. When it comes to the highly sought after bottles of allocated/limited bourbon (such as George T. Stagg, ECBP, Pappy, etc.), we know that those things get distributed and are out there, at least ever so briefly. With imported whisky, we don’t always know if the local distributors are even going to bother bringing certain bottles to market. For years, I had a hard time finding any decent bottle of Springbank in my area other than the standard 10, 15, and 18 year olds. The 12 year cask strength? Nobody had it. Hazelburn? Nope, not around here. Longrow? Fat chance. Springbank is just one example of this, but there are plenty of others (for instance, Amrut was unavailable around me for a few years, and currently Balblair isn’t available). So if the whisky you’re seeking isn’t even being distributed to your state or area, there’s no real point in going hunting for it.
Of course, part of whisky hunting is the thrill of not knowing what you’ll find. You may not find the specific bottle you’re looking for, but you might find something else completely unexpected and just as good or better. I don’t go out hunting all that often myself, but I do tend to stop in liquor stores whenever I happen to pass by one and have some extra time. And that takes us to the subject of today’s review.
When it comes to the type of whisky worth hunting, some of the most highly sought after bottles are Springbank’s single cask expressions. In addition to their standard range of whiskies and the occasional and random “small batch” release (such as the 14 year old Bourbon Wood), the Campbeltown distillery also releases unique single cask expressions to various markets. These single casks vary in age and type of cask maturation, but they are always (as far as I know) bottled at cask strength and are usually hard to find on store shelves.
For years I’ve seen pictures of Springbank single casks posted on social media platforms like Instagram, but I had never seen one in the flesh. And then suddenly one day a few months ago I walked into a local liquor store just to browse and, lo and behold, there were several bottles of a 12 year old Springbank Single Cask matured in a first-fill ex-burgandy wine cask. I grabbed a bottle and hurried home.
A few quick details about this Springer per the back label… This whisky was distilled in December 2004 and bottled in September 2017, matured entirely in a first fill Burgundy cask which produced a total of 252 bottles. It was bottled exclusively for Pacific Edge Wine & Spirits (a US importer).
Does this rare whisky meet my expectations? Let’s see.
Springbank Single Cask 12 Year Burgundy Review
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Campbeltown
Age: 12 years
ABV: 57.5%
Non chill-filtered
Natural color
Nose
Tannic and a little dry at first nosing, but turns sweet with time and a drop of water. The wine influence is evident. Loads of fresh, dark cherries (like you just sliced one in half). A little sour and funky. A good amount of slightly bitter oak. Plenty of brown sugar. Vanilla extract. Soft, chewy toffee. Grassy… almost like cannibas. Wonderfully intoxicating.
Palate
Big, fruity, tannic, and funky, with just the right amount of astringent oak. Fresh dark fruits and dried tropical fruits. Plenty of red wine, almost port-like but not nearly as sweet. Dark and bitter chocolate. Brownies. Sweet and sour sauce. Brown sugar and toffee from the nose, but now the toffee is more syrupy. The fresh cherries from the nose are also present, but not nearly as prominent. Savory, with a hint of soy sauce and a touch of peat smoke. Terrific balance of sweet, savory, and tannic. No one element completely overwhelms the others.
Oily, velvety, and chewy mouthfeel.
Just wonderful.
Finish
Long and dry. Dark fruits. A little smoky. Red wine. Melted dark chocolate, sweeter and less bitter than on the palate.
Overall
This whisky contains everything I love about a good Springbank. It’s deep, dark, and complex, yet also fun and full of life. Incredibly big and simply bursting with character.
Many single malts don’t have the backbone or character to hold up to a first fill ex-Burgundy cask, but Springbank does. In fact, Springbank seems to thrive in such wine-drenched situations. This is fantastic.
SCORE: 9/10 (Fantastic)
Final Thoughts
In my review of Springbank 10 Year, I talked a little about having a favorite distillery. I said I don’t really have a favorite personally, but that Springbank would be near the top of my list were I to make one. With bottles like this single cask… well, maybe I do have a favorite and I just don’t want to admit it. It seems to have become a bit clichéd to say that Springbank is your favorite distillery, and I hate clichés. But damn, this Springbank is so freaking good, just like so much of the whisky that comes from Campbeltown. Still… there are other distilleries out there making malts I love just as much—Amrut and Ben Nevis are two that come to mind, and I’ll be reviewing more from those distilleries at some point in the not too distant future.
Buying Advice: If you enjoy Springbank or characterful wine-matured whisky in general and you see this bottle at a reasonable price, go for it. Note that “reasonable price” in this case is somewhere around $130. It’s not a cheap whisky, but in my opinion it’s worth every penny… I’ve already bought a second bottle.
Drink This Not That: If you can find a bottle, drink this. There were 252 bottles from this particular cask, and I’ve got two of them, so your chances at finding one aren’t that great. If not, try another wine cask matured Springbank (again, if you can find one).
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.
