Springbank 100 Proof - 57.1%

From the Springbank website

At Springbank we pride ourselves on producing a single malt that is made entirely in-house, employing traditional skills that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Produced since 1828, Springbank Single Malts are lightly peated in our kiln and distilled 2.5 times. 

Our new 5yo bottling, the Springbank 100 Proof from Springbank Distillery. 100% Bourbon

Tasting notes:

Appearance: Chardonnay in colour, forms a thin line which beads before eventually falling as thick, oily legs

Nose: Soft peat smoke, green apples, slightly underripe ripe Conference pears, sea breeze, icing sugar, butter caramel toffee and a touch of earthy herbs. Water brings soft maltiness and more smoke.

Palate: Thick, creamy mouthfeel on arrival, followed by an intense burst of spirit.  As this dies down it is replaced by coastal salt, ashy peat smoke, ripe orchard fruit, flinty minerality, subtle malt and a prickle of black pepper. With a little water, some of the hit from the young spirit lessens to allow malt to come through, together with enhancing the notes of smoke and brine.

Finish: Maritime salt, ashy smoke, Kiwi fruit, black pepper and astringent oak spices. With water, milk chocolate appears, whilst salt and smoke linger, together with astringent oak and nutty wood spice.

Overall: I first tried this at the distillery just after it was launched and was impressed enough to pick up a bottle.

The first few drams from the bottle were dominated so much by the spirit that I initially tried leaving it 30 minutes in the glass before drinking it. When this failed to make much of an improvement I played around with dilution, again with indifferent results. In the end I decided to put the whisky to one side for a few weeks in the hope that more space in the bottle would allow it to breathe and open up. It’s still very spirit forward but much better than it was.

For me, this is a whisky which benefits from time open and a little water for it to be able to really shine. It’s only 5 years old and it’s 57.1% abv so it shouldn’t come as a major shock that it’s likely to be on the hot side. There’s a lot of great Campbeltown notes in there, you just need to get past that youthful feistiness to find them.

For more information on this whisky and the Springbank Distillery, follow the link to the company website.