I didn’t get Springbank. Many people I speak to say the same. However those that love it, really love it. I know from long experience that this is a recipe for excellence and deep fun, so when I heard that TWE were running a Springbank masterclass I had to make it happen.
Definitely get it now.
Hazelburn 12 year old, 46%, A+
12 years in sherry casks.
Nose – Sweet, sour strawberry and juicy red fruit. Lovely, assured, boiled sweets and wood structure. Deep sherry integration, really smooth, nice petrol notes on top.
Body – Immediately exciting spice and wood, dark toffee, lots of clear malt.
Finish – A bit light, fantastic sulphur notes, well integrated, pretty easy going. Lingering notes are sulphur and bitter toffee.
Hazelburn Rundlets and Kilderkins 2001, 50.1%, A⊕’
Nose – Immediately deeply sweet, bright toffee leather and red cherries, great wood depth.
Body – Spiced chocolate, a little chilli heat, sulphur is well contained and interesting. Quite intense but intensely balanced and very good.
Finish – Very long, spicy, chocolaty, really quite intense and long lasting. Mexican chocolate, some bitterness. Great balance.
Kilkerran WIP6 “Bourbon” 46% A⊕
Pre-release sample, Glengyle, 10 years old.
Nose – the same waxy backing but much more sharply sour, a little raw. However, it does have deep toffee interest and on further investigation, quite the fruit bomb, with a future emphasis on waxy tropics. *interested*
Body – Rich, spicy, dusting of drying peat, loads of balanced sweetness, herbal notes of lavender and rosemary.
Finish – Actually very long, rich and balanced. Really delicious. Finish results in some lingering bitterness against the toffee – perhaps some water will smooth it out. With water, a little ashen – it’s reasonably peaty.
Kilkerran WIP6 “Sherry” 46% A
Pre-release sample, Glengyle, 10 years old.
Nose – Immediately more obvious, sweet shops, boiled sweets, very balanced approach to sherry. Quite restrained but surprisingly deep.
Body – Immediate sulphur, rich and biscuit, malt loaf, molasses, creamy and (after all that, still) very balanced.
Finish – Quite short, a little fruity, good balance, some dried, dusty fruit at the end.
Springbank 12 years old, cask strength #7, 50.3% A⊕’
Lightly peated to 10ppm, 70% sherry, 30% bourbon casks.
Nose – Sweet cider. Then bright, red cherries. Deep cereal, dried strawberries, bright deodorant notes, freshly delivered oak furniture. Some old bookcase – and finally, hazelnut toffee.
Body – Toffee and sulphur, immense balance and poise, green apples. Lovely.
Finish – Extremely sweet, long and sulphured. Great balance, long and interesting. Wow.
Bourbon, sherry and rum casks – 6-14 years old.
Nose – Light, bright and orchard fruit. A little summery, sexy, feminine, dirtily waxed candle. Extremely interesting.
Body – Tobacco (Marlboro lights), caramel, apple sauce, dark sherry, burnt oak.
Finish – Sulphur, loads of oak, bitter wood. Very, very interesting, but all over the place. Lingering BBQ competitions, and a touch of soap. Challenging but fascinating – sharp and wooden. Ghostly peated, lingering grapefruit hull. I’m a fan.
Longrow Red “Port Cask”, 55-58%? A⊕+
Pre-release. This is 11 years fully aged in port casks, and will be released in September (when I’ll be buying it).
Nose – Winey, sour strawberries. Dark and bright cherries. Really massive nose – a little coastal, red chew sweets, bookcase, old books, library and plastic book covers, bright tannins.
Body – Massively sweet, sulphured, boiled sweets overload but balanced by a delivery that includes long, drying spice and tannins. Wonderful arrival.
Finish – Long, sulphurous, but delicious strawberry sweetness. With water, the wine mellows and the whole arrival becomes more smooth and balanced.
Springbank 1999 14 year old, local barley. 57.8% A⊕+
Springbank society only. The barley comes from a local (as the crow flies) farm 8 miles away (Machrie Moor). All refill sherry casks. This will be generally available in 2 years’ time as a 16 year old, in the meantime it’s (at the time of writing) still available as a Springbank Society bottle (membership of the society is £50 for life).
Nose – Waxed, fresh green apple. Some cider, great warmth. Subtle wax and sulphur, dark and dank fecundity. A little grapefruit.
Body – Enormous warmth and body, long sulphurous wax, dark and brooding. The arrival is stunning, just amazing balance and intensity.
Finish – Extremely long, cherried, beautiful.
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