Springbank 12 Cask Strength Review

Distiller: Springbank. 54.3% ABV. Age:12 years old. Region:  Campbeltown. Price: $85-90.

What a way to end a night: Springbank Cask Strength 12. Matured 60% in first-fill sherry casks, the rest in refill. The most perfectly calibrated blend of fruit, malt, and (low-key) peat this side of…anywhere.

Campbeltown may be down to three distilleries, but when one of them’s this good, it could hold down a region all on its own. Springbank’s a connoisseur’s favorite, due to their relentless creativity, their handling every aspect of the whisky-making process in-house (only Kilchoman does the same), and their amazing results.

Nose: smoked ham. Sweet parchment and wood pulp. Toasty light peat of the sort that Springbank has always done so well–and Benromach now does too. A hint of that beautifully fatty body that you get on your first sip. Palate does sweet, salty, and savory all at once. Juicy red fruit. Caramel apple. Nutmeg and ginger move from body to finish, with a spray of blood orange zest at the end.

Reminds my why I spent my last night at the great Jack Rose DC working my way as far down the Springbank single cask list as I could afford.

Sweet dreams, whisky sippers. – BO