Malt Mission 2007 #140

Springbank 1997
Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky
55.2% abv
£36.50

28 weeks of (liver) drammage and the malt mission is still going strong. Thanks for reading, even when things get a bit dry. Tired. Stressed. Busy. Lazy.

So here is Springbank's newest offering, a bottling from 1997 in a slick black box. YES! A black box that will actually record the flight path from bottling plant in Campbeltown to your local whisky shop past your gums and out your wazoo. Back to form, indeed.

Selected by Frank McHardy and Stuart Robertson from re-charred sherry butts, the packaging is not the only thing that makes this stuff stand out in the Springbank family of whiskies. This vintage is a batch release of 11,000 bottles.

I have read/heard "value buy" applied to this malt since its release recently, but many look at this price and scream (or post quietly in civil whisky forums) "cult prices!" Well... yeah. This is Springbank. Not some whisky factory that runs 6 days a week 51 weeks a year. The still operate 4-6 months tops and there IS a cult following despite the grumbling of whisky nerds in recent years. But £37? Worrying for the future of quality budget malts but people will gobble this stuff up. Don't believe me or just cRaZy for Springbank? Have a browse at some of the older releases that have become the stuff of whisky legend/wet dreams of many a whisky nerd HERE and HERE.

Thanks to The Whisky Exchange for the drop. Don't miss Whisky Fringe in Edinburgh this weekend. Eat more vegetables. Tell your sweetheart you love him/her. Stop reading this.

For more info, all Springbank posts can be found HERE.

TASTING NOTES:

Heavy, weighty, meaty. Tapioca pearls, Irn Bru, cream soda. Sheep. Butter.

Heavy, weighty, thick. But lively. Honey and peanut butter. Gauze. Tea. Rye. Healing creams. Late development of spice, smoke, and some green characteristics through the shortish finish. Beansprouts and water spinach.

SUMMARY:

Time in the glass benefits this one as the initially dominant burnt caramel character gives way to a complex array of aromas and flavours. Water exposes quite a bit both on the nose and palate. Still, not very Springbank-y, but wholly enjoyable.

Malt Mission #136
Malt Mission #137
Malt Mission #138
Malt Mission #139

Malt Mission HOME