I’m not sure whether Dutch Springbank Lovers is an actual organisation but this Springbank 20 Year Old single cask was specially selected for them. Obviously from a fresh sherry cask.
Springbank 20 yo 1995 (54,2%, OB 2016, fresh sherry cask, 192 btl.)
Springbank 20 yo 1995 (54,2%, OB 2016, fresh sherry cask, 192 btl.)Nose: rich, potent dry sherry, almost Karuizawa style. Roasted chestnuts. Rum raisins, prunes and preserved cherries, a bit of burnt cake and some of the Springbank coal smoke. Tobacco. Mocha. Toffee and cinnamon pastry. It’s got a faint dusty side, with a little plastic, but that’s fine here.
Mouth: punchy and peppery, with lots of herbal sherry again, as well as some oranges and raspberries. Nice mix of dry and juicy notes. Leather but also nice fruity notes. A little liquorice and cocoa.
Finish: very long, on tobacco, aromatic herbs, dark chocolate and lots of earthy notes.
A rather great sherry bomb, it has got a big, dark sherry side but still preserves some of the distillery character. Nice selection. I believe it was originally around € 250, but the shops that still have stock ask up to double this amount, sad.
Score: 91/100