Whisky Sponge Springbank Tasting Notes

Whisky Sponge Springbank 1995 (26 year old) ‘Edition 60A’  51.1%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: 1995 Btl: 2022/ Tasted: Nov 2022

The nose is very floral and barley’d with subtle oxidised apricot, apple and aromatic, sweet spice and hints of dusty coffee, vanilla, fish oils, lime sweets and sawdusty oak.

The palate is full and oily with a richness f dried/ oxidised apple, apricot and pear. Lovely lime citrus lift and gentle sawdusty oak middle. Building coffee’d spice, tannin and a little floral honey. Lovely maturity. Long, salty, fishy, vanilla finish with burnt wood, nutmeg and dry spices. Definitely an impressive

Whisky Sponge Springbank 1994 (27 year old) ‘Edition 60B’  47%

Refill Sherry Hogshead/ Dist: 1994 Btl: 2022/ Tasted: Nov 2022

The nose is initially quite reticent and very oak influenced with subtle sweet raisin, sultana, dried plum, coffee and sub-Armagnac notes. With time a little sawdust, fish oils, salt, citrus and a touch of leafy/ nettly herbal notes appear.

The palate opens wt the mature dried fruit and sawdusty oak. Hints of fish oils, dried apricot, sultana an coffee follow. Elegant and citric middle with a flourish of gentle wood spice. Long, juicy, citric and fishy finish with lingering sawdusty oak, violets and coffee.

Whisky Broker Springbank Tasting Notes

Whisky Broker Springbank 1993 (27 year old) 51.3%

Bottled for the It’s All About Springbank Facebook Group.

Bourbon Barrel 265/ Dist: Apr 1993 Btl: May 2020/ Tasted: Aug 2020

The nose is quite shy to begin with but it shows some lovely mature, dusty barley, malt, fish oils and lemon. There’s not a huge amount of oak character so it displays a good freshness with a touch of salt. With time it becomes increasingly citric with a subtle linseed oil, smoke and finally butter and custard powder.

The palate is very oily and sweeter than the nose suggests. Sugar coated barley, apricot and wood spice. It’s less citric than the nose but it is pleasantly deep if not hugely complex. Lightly coastal on the middle with a touch of lemon, linseed oil and honey. A little grippy and chalky on the finish with a pleasantly oily after-taste.

Vintage Malt Whisky Company Springbank Tasting Notes

Vintage Malt Whisky Company ‘Coopers Choice’ Springbank 1998 (18 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry Cask 116/ Dist: May 1998 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Oct 2017

Oily and fishy with gritty Oloroso and hints of walnut, prune and orange on the nose. Pleasantly mature and lightly salted with late Bovril notes

The palate is soft and not as gritty. Slightly treacly with malt, liquorice, fish oils, tar and subtle coastal notes. Long and juicy with lingering dried fruit and dark chocolate. In conclusion: An impressive example of a middle aged Campbeltown whisky

Valentier Springbank Tasting Notes

Valentier Springbank 10 year old ‘Port Influenced’ 46%

10 year old DB Springbank finished in a 5 or 10ltr Port seasoned cask.

Not A Commercially Available Bottling!

Tasted: Nov 2022

A big, chunky, monolithic nose of winey black/red fruit and coffee. Hints of fish oils, marzipan and peat smoke. With time some sweet vanilla and jammy fruit.

The palate shows a huge amount of juicy, jammy red/ black fruit, coffee and liquorice. Although it continues in it’s juicy/ jammy way some fish oils and peat smoke can be discerned. Juicy/ Jammy, winey, coffee’d finish with a lovely spicy sign off!

The Whisky Baron Springbank Tasting Notes

The Whisky Baron Renaissance Collection Springbank 1997 (23 year old) 54.6% (RRP £400)

Fresh Sherry Butt 289/ Dist: Apr 1997 Btl: Jun 2020/ Tasted: Jun 2021

A huge, gritty, Oloroso nose full of dark, raisinated fruit, dusty spice and peat, tar, creosote and funky/ stinky/ animally/ manurey notes. It’s not really showing the maturity one would expect at this age. Late warm spice, liquorice, dark chocolate and green nuts.

The palate also opens with a deluge of herbal dried fruit and astringent salty notes. Now it is showing some maturity but damn it’s tannic! Those tannins are practically sucking the moisture out of ones mouth! Raisinated fruit, fish oils, sweet violets, dark chocolate, tar, treacle and subtle incense notes follow. Dusty, dry, tannic finish with lingering alcoholic prune juice, raisin and malt.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Springbank Tasting Notes

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Springbank Batch 5 25 year old 53.3%

Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Oct 2017

the nose is rich and dense with dark honey, toasty oak, walnut oil, liquorice, salt, burnt treacle, tar and sweet, almost PX-like grapey sweet fruit.

The palate is very mature with mouth coating treacle, tar and dark honey. Quite tannic on the middle, but just about balanced. Long with toasty oak, burnt wood and intensely salt laden spice. Just a touch of herbal marc-like notes in the after-taste. In conclusion: Possibly a little too heavy on the sherry, but fabulously mature.

Spirit of Gigha Springbank Tasting Notes

Spirit of Gigha Springbank 1992 (10 year old) 46

Dist: 1992 Btl: 2002/ Tasted: Jan 2023

A dense, earthy and quite heavily peated nose. Malty and slightly fishy with leather an d tobacco. It lightens a touch as some lovely, fleshy apricot appears along with some creamy American oak. Superb depth.

The palate isn’t as dense as the nose suggests and it’s less expressive, which maybe down to the more up front American oak layering the vanillins over the spirit character. A little salt and barley appears on the middle along with a touch of spice. Good fishy and briny finish as the spirit breaks free. It definitely finished on a high note.

Scotch Malt Whisky Society Springbank Tasting Notes

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 27.97 1998 (13 year old ) ‘Glazed cashews and lemon lollies  57.6%

Refill Sherry Gorda/ Dist: May 1998 Btl: 2012/ Tasted: July 2012

Stinky, slightly sulphurous and raw first fill Oloroso aromas. Hints of chocolate and no shortage of alcohol. With time there is a slight fishiness and a suggestion of peat. Water brings out plenty of raisinated fruit, earth and loam. Thankfully that sulphur note has dissipated. Slightly oily now with warm spice notes.

The palate is sweet, malty and all wood – Liquorice, treacle and wood tannins by the bucketful. Water makes the palate mirror the nose and also brings out a touch of burnt wood. Very intense and spicy finish with a slight herbalness and a dry after-taste. Water doesn’t make much of a change maybe brining out a touch of violets but not mitigating the tannins. Conclusion: Raw sherry an no distillery character. To be honest the palate is a bit dull when diluted.

SCOMA Springbank Tasting Notes

SCOMA Springbank 1991 (27 year old) 50.6%

Bourbon/ Dist: July 1991 Btl: Apr 2019/ Tasted: Jan 2023

A very mature nose of dusty American oak and Cognac-esque dried fruit. Hints of salt and a gentle waft of peat and fish oils. The oak becomes more dominate with time and aeration adding more nutty/ creamy notes. Late hints of tar and spice. A lovely nose.

The palate is gentle and elegant, opening with sawdusty oak and oxidised fruit. Again subtly Cognac-esque. Salt and fishy notes come through on the middle and the spirit displays a gorgeous maturity, although it has possibly lost a little bit of complexity to age, but I’m picking holes. Lovely, salty, spicy, leathery and tobacco laced finish with a touch of fish oils and oxidised apricot and baked apple. It lingers for ages!

Ooshkie (Ooki) Springbank Tasting Notes

Ooshkie (Ooki) Springbank 1996 (23 year old) Single Cask 53.1%

Sherry Butt 583 finished in PX Octave

Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: Sept 2020/ Tasted: July 2021

The nose is very intense, very winey and loaded with Pedro Ximinez pruney dried fruit. Treacle, tar, peat and some subtle Oloroso dried fruit follow. It has a sort of Armagnac-esque rancio going on with walnut, almond and pecan nuts. Hints of salt, marzipan, fish oils and late toasty oak.

The palate is luscious and juicy with again plenty of pruney dried fruit, treacle, wet tar, tobacco leaf, dried peat, earth and fish oils. Very toasty oak middle with a touch of spice. Slightly masked finish, continuing with the toasty oak along with tar and treacle.

Water lightens the sherry intensity and emphasises the marzipan, apricot, salt and brings out some pineapple, citrus and more coastal character. The palate is softer and still very toasty. Showing a touch more tannin, treacle tar and wood smoke, certainly on the mid palate. Long and still toasty with sweet more noticeable Oloroso sweet raisin, sultana and earth.