Category: Springbank

[40.5%・Bottled in 2001・50 Years Old・Official Bottling・Limited Release of 580 Bottles]

Nose:

It is hard to believe how clean the nose fares for its age, crisp pears and mangoes, lightly floral with a nice brush of malt and just a hint of grilled vegetables.

Palate & Finish:

Succulent with dried fruits, the delivery is on the grassy side and is reserved in the most tender of ways.

A wonderful but fleeting dryness with a soothing touch of minerals to close.

Thoughts:

A dram that eases in its nuances, comforting and pure even at an advanced age but perhaps shows a touch of reluctance, an imperfection to some..

☆ ☆ [Highly Recommended]

-Nicholas

[43.0%・Bottled Circa 1970s・21 Years Old・Official Bottling Imported by Maison Du Whisky・Limited Release]

Nose:

Old school pear sweets with a mellow grassy note. Subtle sense of malt with a brush of sea salt. Seaweed and herbs surfacing in time and opened up to minerals, red cherry and orange slices.

Palate & Finish:

A clean grassy delivery, brightened up by the barley sugar with a wee citrus edge from the tropical fruits, a pinch of pepper draws the malt back.

Mellow and mild but wonderfully fruity in a subtle manner and the tail fades out in a puff of cigarette smoke.

Thoughts:

A minimalistic dram that really opens up in the glass. It is stylistically quite clean as one would expect from the 50s distillate but with a pleasant surprise that is the touch of smoke.

☆ [Recommended]

-Nicholas

[46.0%・NAS・Bottled Circa 1980s・ Official Bottling・Limited Release]

Nose:

Pretty much the crème de la crème of creamy Sherry, a Christmas jazz carol if you will pardon my pun.

Palate & Finish:

Bold and substantial mouthfeel of dark fruits, the acidity is rather prominent and seasoned with cinnamon with a sticky viscosity to the dram.

A prolonged state of home made strawberry jam that’s slightly on the acidic side in the finish.

Thoughts:

I believe this bottle came inside a saxophone packaging made exclusively for the Japanese market.

And the Saxplayer is sexy indeed (pun intended)..

☆ ☆ [Highly Recommended]

Thank you Aaron.

-Nicholas

[43.0%・N/A・Bottled Circa Late 1960s – Early 1970s・ Official Bottling・Limited Release]

Nose:

Pickled pears, light honey from the grassy spirit. Linseed and chimichurri but also some overripe bananas and peaches, and a mildly floral afterthought.

Palate & Finish:

A tad on the dry side with the malt doing most of the talking, with some dates and sticky strawberries in the background.

Elongating tail of oak and minerals, as well as mint leaves and cocoa beans.

Thoughts:

This could be the 5 Years Old or the 8 Years Old; either way for such a young whisky to accentuate the malt like that, you would imagine apart from them doing things differently back then, there might have been some bottle ageing as well..

☆ [Recommended]

-Nicholas

[46.0%・21 Years Old・Bottled Circa 1990s・ Official Bottling・Limited Release]

Nose:

Aged elegance of crystallised sherry sugar, sultana and dried leather.

Palate & Finish:

A marvellous mouthfeel of old school Sherry-led umami, sweet raisins balanced with a perfect acidity from the figs as the dark chocolate conveys a seductive bitterness.

Dried leather with more dark chocolate in a prolonged finish.

Thoughts:

A quality Sherry cask from the get go and it’s just immensely gratifying, the sort of soulful nightcap you have at a dimly lit bar with vinyl playing..

☆ ☆ [Highly Recommended]

Thank you Darren for the dram.

-Nicholas

[46.0%・32 Years Old・Distilled in 1971・Bottled in 2004・ Official Bottling・Limited Release of 2,400 Bottles]

Nose:

Immaculate malt, creamed honey with all that beeswax just being extremely attractive with complementary notes of soft sandalwood, breakfast cereal and hints of ginger flowers and chalk.

Palate & Finish:

Lemon jam and passion fruit syrup atop this chewy cereal base, the grassy spirit is infused with fine, graceful infusion of wood, while notes of banana custard, golden syrup and honey comb continue to ooze out and fuse with the candle wax.

Creamy fruits and a buttery touch, the grassiness and barley softness of the spirit still manage to linger with a mineral sweetness.

Thoughts:

A nose that would launch a thousand ships.

The wholesomeness of the Springbank spirit with all the regional goodness beautifully oak seasoned.

I wouldn’t say this about just any distillery but I could make a case that this dram right here is an exemplary testament that Springbank distillate are more likely to weather through the test of time and become something extraordinary.

☆☆☆ [Most Recommended]

Thank you for the memories Ginger..

-Nicholas

[57.0%・10 Years Old・Bottled Circa Late 1970s・Official Bottling・Limited Release]

Nose:

Masculine and full of pineapples, honey, vanilla nougat, mango cubes and a festive tropical vibe in general. Ginger flowers and fresh grassiness give a refreshing touch amidst the sweetness as the malt fares full and hearty as expected.

Palate & Finish:

A magnificent burst of rewarding fruits, vibrant and hitting that perfect point of sweetness and crispness. The oiliness of the spirit adds to how layered the delivery is, with a gorgeous dose of creamy mangoes.

The intense concentration of sweet ripe fruits continues to blossom as the malt chicly draws things to a close.

Thoughts:

Close to ☆ ☆ ☆, this should have been celebrated as one of the legendary vintage Springbank bottlings that went to Italy..

☆ ☆ [Highly Recommended]

-Nicholas

[46.0%・30 Years Old・Lombard Bottling・ Limited Release]

Nose:

Feels dated but carries the surprisingly endearing notes of wood and mothballs, with soft fruits, pepper and other dried spices. The malt feels a bit green as well.

Palate & Finish:

The dram is really driven by soft fruits, banana jam with some other fruity enzymes followed by a clean layer of white oak.

Slightly drying towards the finish, with hints of white peaches.

Thoughts:

A rather courteous Springbank from 1960s if I were not mistaken, I find it rather lovely actually but it does feel bottle aged and a tad too opened, if you know what I mean..

☆ [Recommended]

Thank you Derek for the dram, it’s much appreciated..

-Nicholas