Springbank 10 yo
(46%, OB 2009, batch 09/434)

Nose: a classic Springbank profile with a wide range of aromas. Starts on tangerine, with added notes of lemon peel, green apples and pears. Dry oak. Maritime notes with a bit of ‘wet dog’. Hints of sharp, earthy peat as well. After a while, the fruitiness becomes bigger and rounder. Mouth: very oily and extremely coating. Very peaty as well, much more peat than I expected. Rather spicy, with mostly pepper and nutmeg coming out. Roasted nuts in the background. A faint hint of sour notes (vinegar?) in the aftertaste. Becomes a bit perfumed with water, so I recommend it straight. Finish: long, peaty and briney.

This is a surprisingly complex dram. A very consistent opener of the range! Around € 35.

Score: 86/100

Springbank 10 yo
(46%, OB 2008, batch 08/82, 35cl)

Nose: this version clearly shares the same basic elements, but the end result is less appealing. Still some tangerine, but it misses the sparkling freshness. Lots of strawberries with cream, quite spectacular. A bit more wine influence I would say, with dried fruits and even a few dirty traces. Hints of sesame oil (I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this in a whisky before but it’s clearly there). Mouth: maybe a tad less fat and a tad less peaty. More spices though. Less different than on the nose, but still it misses the balance of the 2009 version. Hints of heather honey that I didn’t find in the newer version. Finish: medium length, less briney and more malty. Very dry.

This Springbank 10yo is less complex and a bit rougher. Let’s be glad the current version is definitely the better choice.

Score: 82/100

Afterwards, I found out it won in the category “Best Campbeltown under 12 years” which probably limits the number of contenders to.. two? three maybe? Never take whisky competitions too seriously!

Springbank 12 yo ‘Claret Wood’
(54,4%, OB 2010, 9360 btl.)

Nose: immediately different. Rich, sirupy with a fresh, fruity side (redcurrant, raspberry, melon) but also a nice musty / coastal side. It even shows hints of coal smoke. Honey and figs. A little bit of mint. Hot sand? Reminiscent of the old Springbanks but in a modernized version. Very good and complex. Mouth: sweet and earthy at the same time. Orange liqueur and herbs. Old leather. A little ginger and pine resin. Again it seems to be a mixture of different styles, but it works very well. It seems to become less expressive when you add water though. Finish: long, slightly peppery with lingering fruits and a salty edge.

This is a big dram, with many layers and without any disturbing wine flavours. One of the best modern Springbank so far. Giving whisky a third maturation after a wine cask is not a bad idea!Recommended. Around € 45.

Score: 88/100

This new Springbank 18 is matured in 80% sherry and 20% bourbon casks, with a limited production of 7800 bottles that sold out almost instantly (just like the Longrow 18y last year).

Springbank 18y (46%, OB 2009)

Nose: complex nose. Sweet start on berries (redcurrant, blueberry, strawberry) with underlying coal smoke and espresso. Slight notes of bubble gum and wax. Grape and apple. Fruit cake. Fresh for its age. Very balanced and very pleasant. Mouth: very fruity again and rather oily. Bubble gum again. Some violets and cassis. Almonds. Smoky undertones with hints of liquorice. Long, candied finish. A bit dusty, with more sherry influence (raisins, chocolate).

Very smooth and beautiful Springbank. A little expensive though. Around € 100.

Score: 88/100

I was told it contained quite a lot of older whisky. In fact 21yo would have been a more accurate name. This year, there’s a new version limited at 9000 bottles with the same cask distribution (80% sherry, 20% bourbon). It’s likely to sell out really soon.

Springbank 18y (46%, OB 2010)

Nose: it takes a while to open up, but it’s clear the berries are the key element again. Blueberries, strawberries… an unusual but very enjoyable fruit mix. Underneath is a darker layer of roasted grains, very gentle smoke and hints of marzipan and vanilla. A slightly earthy / dusty edge as well, which makes it a classic Springbank. While it’s still very balanced and entertaining, I remember last year’s release to be more expressive and complex. Mouth: same remark, it seems rather tame. Quite oily with the sherry standing out a bit (dried fruits, some spices, nuts). Slightly bittersweet. A hint of smoke. Finish: medium length but really nice, with notes of blueberries, chocolate and spices.

While it’s still a good whisky, I was underwhelmed by this new version. Maybe it’s the power of imagination (I didn’t have a chance to taste them head-to-head), but the new version seems to be playing in a lower league. Quite expensive: around € 100.

Score: 84/100

Springbank 34 yo 1969 (56,7%, Signatory Vintage Rare Reserve 2003, refill butt #266, 494 btl.)

Nose: all kinds of oil and wax: linseed oil, engine oil, brylcream… Rather dusty with hints of old libraries. Hints of vegetables, moss, wet fern forest. A little mint. Not bad but slightly uninspiring. Mouth: a watered down oak infusion, or so it seems. Quite tired I’m afraid. Cloves. Wax. Tobacco. Faint eucalyptus, but all of this is rather soft and quiet. Then developing some farmy notes and something bitter. Finish: bitter, dry, tannic and even a bit medicinal.

I expected a lot from a 1960’s Springbank but unfortunately this is not a highflyer. At first I thought the sample could be tainted, but then it turned out other reviewers mentioned the same disappointment. Oh well… Around € 300 if you happen to find a bottle.

Score: 81/100

This is the second peat-smoked Springbank from BBR, after sister cask #71 bottled in 2009.

Springbank 1992 ‘Peat-smoked’
(46%, Berry Bros & Rudd 2011, cask #61)

Nose: smooth and subtly peated, quite oily with some medicinal elements as well as more aromatic, fruity notes. Tangerine, pear and melon, I would say. Quite coastal as well, with iodine, wet sand and chalk. Wet wool. A little eucalyptus. Graphite. Hints of sweet lemon. Very clean and finely chiselled but not too austere, with the soft peat completely mixed with the rounder elements. Not too far from the legendary 1970’s Ardbegs in that respect, which is quite an achievement. Mouth: also quite oily, with the same elements we saw on the nose. Again perfectly in the middle between austere and rounded. A soft bitterness, a soft sweetness and a soft peatiness, how’s that for balance? Fresh lemon. Mineral notes. Soft spices (pepper, ginger and a pinch of salt). Cold ashes. Finish: long and powerful, still mineral with some sweet lemon and soot.

In case you’ve missed cask #71, here’s a perfect replacement. Is it indecent to hope for a cask strength version one day? That could be out of this world. Around € 110.

Score: 90/100

Springbank 13 yo 1998
(46%, Duncan Taylor NC2 2011)

Nose: settles nicely on sweet, almost marmalade aromas (peach jam, oranges, plums, even strawberries) while also displaying a maritime character of salty seawater. Some apple and ginger. Hints of yeast. Simple but nice enough. Mouth: curiously fruity. It’s a kind of a fruit compote but I have difficulty describing it. Orange syrup. Yellow raisins. Rhubarb jam? Overripe tangerine or figs? Melon sweets? Molasses? Many question marks but it’s actually quite enjoyable. Reminds me of certain Sauternes / Moscatel finishes. Again a salty / bitter twist and hints of sticky sweet toffee. Finish: not too long, with the sweet fruits having the last word. Hints of ginger again with a faint bitterness.

Much sweeter and rounder than most recent official Springbanks. A sweet wine finish that’s in fact not a wine finish? Worth trying. Around € 60. Available from Whisky-Doris among others.

Score: 82/100

There are many versions of this rather legendary Springbank 21yo. They were bottled in dumpy bottles during the 1980’s. After that, regular bottles appeared with a cardboard box and slightly different printing, first with a jagged label and then with a straight cut label. In 2005, the last batch was released (2400 bottles).

Springbank 21y (46%, OB mid 90’s, jagged label)

Nose: wow, one of the most impressive noses I’ve come across. Dry fruits (plums, apricot). A strong whiff of heather. Wonderful notes of old wood, dusty cellars. Just the right amount of sherry influence. Something of biscuits and sweet honey. Coconut? Cherries? Blueberries? Waxy notes as well and even a slight coastal edge. Hints of leather. Oh man, I could go on and on… Complex but so smoothly balanced. Mouth: liquid velvet. Fruity start, candied even. Developing on raisins and cassis. Heathered honey again. Growing spicier (cinnamon, vanilla) and oakier. Very nice touching of coal smoke, but really subtle. Salty liquorice towards the end. Finish: very long, regaining raisin sweetness.

Really excellent, although it’s a tad more spectacular on the nose than on the palate. This is high class. If you find a bottle of this Springbank, expect to pay around € 350.

Score: 94/100

This was post n°100 on WhiskyNotes (hooray), so it had to be something special, right?

Springbank CV (46%, OB 2010)

Nose: quite a whirlpool of different aromas. I detected at least three layers. One has grainy notes, oatmeal, sesame oil and sour yoghurt. For me, these notes are a little ungraceful. A second one shows nice soot and subtle peat. A final layer has some sweet sherry notes, almonds and eucalyptus (unfortunately all quite subdued). Too bad the layers are not very integrated – there’s a lot going on but in the end nothing stands out in a nice way. Mouth: quite some sweetness with dark caramel (the Port casks?) as a common thread for the whole profile. Pepper and other spices. Again subtle peat. A briney hint of liquorice with a distinct bitter tang in the end. Finish: more liquorice and caramel with a hint of smoke.

If C.V. stands for Curriculum Vitae, then this employee seems to have done a bunch of things in his career, but nothing really well. Not exactly harmonious and not my kind of dram. Springbank has many better choices in its current range. Around € 35.

Score: 75/100

Another book ‘Bourbon & blues’ will be released soon and again it comes with a Springbank release, this time a 1998 matured in ex-bourbon wood (of course).

Springbank 14 yo ‘Jazz Edition’
(56%, OB 2010, 600 btl.)

Nose: the first few minutes it’s hard to get over the big matchstick notes, gunpowder and traces of rubber. Nothing dirty in my opinion but worth noting - it’s a bit too prominent maybe. Then some orange peel, dried apricot and heather. Earthy notes. A slight coastalness. Mouth: sweet, hot and a tad sharp at first, very peppery with the dried fruits on a second level. Plenty of spices and herbs with a little salt as well. Something rooty. Bitter oranges. A little resin. Water highlights the savoury notes and makes it a bit flat. Finish: medium length, dry with some ginger, herbs and liquorice.

Not bad but I’m not a fan of this type of Springbank / sherry combination. I’ve read it should recall the famous Springbank sherry style of the 1960’s but I don’t share that view.
Around € 60.

Score: 77/100