Origin: Campbeltown (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Gradation: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Rum and ex-Port
Chillfiltered: No
Additional Coloring: No
Owner: J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd.
Average price: € 240.00
Official website: springbank.scot/
Vote: 89/100
After those of 10yo, 12yo, 15yo and 18yo, with the review of Springbank 21yo we end today, on such a special day for the blog, the climb to the core range of this distillery, founded in 1828, in which “everything is done at home”. Barley malting, distillation, maturation and bottling take place entirely in Campbeltown, the capital of the Kintyre Peninsula in the south-west of Scotland.
In times of unbridled massification of the whisky product, this peculiar attention to the territorial dimension of the distillate is really rare and precious, and has “marked” a style that has earned over the years the esteem of the most demanding drinkers.
The 21yo sipped today is the 2019 bottling, now difficult to find since only 3,600 bottles have been released on the market: we managed to take a sample of it at the Whisky Revolution Festival in Castelfranco Veneto last October.
The year specification is important, because not all releases have been aged in the same barrel combination. This 21yo of 2019, in particular, comes from a mix of ex-Port barrels (45%) and ex-Rum (55%), and was bottled at 46% ABV, without artificial coloring or chillfiltration, as always in Springbank.
Tasting notes
The color is amber.
On the nose, it’s a varied triumph, very harmonious and not at all cloying, of sweetness, with a generous handful of raisins, several teaspoons of muscovado sugar, a delicious almond paste and lots of candied orange peel. The olfactory profile, which reminds us very closely that of rum, is completed by a milder round of apricot, coffee beans and anise. The only sin of this persuasive symphony of aromas seems to be the modest persistence.
In the mouth, the robust, important body of the whisky communicates a godful sense of fullness. A strong impression of raisins is accompanied by notes of brown sugar and aromas attributable to ripe apricot and candied orange.
Here the persistence appears much greater, in a medium-long finish still of apricot and candied orange.
A sumptuous whisky, with the sole fault of a someway elusive sense of smell.
The contribution of the ex-Rum barrels is perhaps clearer, but that of the ex-Port barrels has probably restored the balance in terms of sweetness, not at all faint.
In any case, if you can still find a bottle around, don’t miss it (despite the price).
Happy birthday, WhiskyArt!