Springbank 15 Year Old

Those who enjoy Springbank tend to love just about everything they release, but the 15 year offering is not without its detractors. Rumours abound about batches that are irredeemably sulphured. Frightening stuff. I admit to being Springbank devotee so I didn't mind taking a chance on this whisky (I bought two bottles completely blind). It's matured exclusively in ex-sherry casks, unlike the 12 Year Old Cask Strength and 10 Year Old which use a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. As with all core bottlings from Springbank, the 15 Year Old is presented at 46% abv, natural colour, and unchill-filtered. More distilleries need to follow suit. Well done, Springbank.

Tasting Notes

• Nose (undiluted): blackberry jam, dark fruits (dates, figs), a touch of brine, toffee, almonds, and something that took me awhile to identify...wool. Yes, wet wool. It's really interesting. Don't be put off! There was a hint of sulphur (spent match) when I first opened the bottle which worried me, but after a few weeks the spent match note completely dissapeared. Huzzah !
• Palate (undiluted): rich, oily, warming, mixed berry (dare I say...huckleberry?) jam...but not overly sweet, some damp hay flavours, a little salted caramel, mild peat smoke, more almonds, and a somewhat chalky mineral note. It's quite pleasant, I promise.
• Finish: medium length, drying but without any residual bitterness, oak spices, dark cocoa powder, icing sugar, vanilla, more blackberries, a little earthy peat, a bit of salted caramel lingers

I have not yet brought myself to add water to this whisky. I know I should, for science, but I haven't and I likely won't.

This whisky is incredibly complex. There are different flavours popping up every time I revisit it. This is most definitely NOT a background whisky. It's one that demands your attention. It's also a whisky that won't please everyone. And that's ok. Springbank is unapologetic whisky. It's different than anything else on the market these days, which is rare. While Springbank's 12 Year Cask Strength remains my favourite Campbeltown offering, their 15 Year Old is proving to be a very moreish whisky for me. Many people don't like this. One fairly well-known whisky reviewer recently gave this a 3/10 mark. I think Springbank 15 is absolutely delightful. I recommend you try this one before you buy it.

This whisky is all about spice and ginger notes. On the nose it is ginger biscuits and pear drops (acetone) althogh when it's been in the glass a while the pear drop note fades. On the palate their is gingerbread men, a hint of the apple strudel I picked up in the 12 year old and then the peat kicks in and you feel it in the back of your throat. Then as it fades you get a salty note and tanins. I'm generally not that keen on sherried whiskies because in my experience they are often just sherry and little else and I think if I wanted to taste that much sherry I'd just drink, you know. Sherry. But this does sherry in a goodway where it's just a part of the flavour profile and not the whole shebang.

Wonderful stuff.

I thank @cpstecroix for the reviewed sample. This is a review of the standard distillery bottling

Nose: medium intensity cereal-style barley-malt, very noticeable brine, some peat and smoke, but not a lot. Yes, this is prototypical Springbank. The flavours are mostly medium-pitched and slightly higher than medium-pitched. The wood flavours are mostly modest and mostly in the background. The quality of these respective flavours is quite high. Score: 23/25

Taste: the peat and smoke are much stronger on the delivery than in the nose, and offer a mixture of bitter and sweet peat flavours. Otherwise the delivery is a good translation of the flavours from the nose. The palatal peat and smoke flavours of this particular sample of Springbank has a higher peat and smoke influence than have many other samples of Springbank malt which I have sampled. Score: 22/25

Finish: rather long, ending on bitter peat and brine. Score: 20.5/25

Balance: very good in the nose, good-to-very good thereafter. Score: 21/25

Water added: 1) raised the pitch, added sweetness, and bundled flavours in the nose, and 2) merged flavours, brought out sweetness and licorice, and bundled flavours in the mouth. This is the very RARE instance in which I PREFER BOTH the nose and the palate with a little water added

Total Sequential Score: 86.5 points

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Strength: strong flavours throughout. Score: 22/25

Quality: very high quality of all of the flavours. Score: 22.5/25

Variety: adequate variety, but this is mostly a peat and brine show. Score: 21/25

Harmony: great harmony in the nose, good to very good harmony in the mouth. Score: 21.5/25

Total Non-Sequential Score: 87 points

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Comment: a lot of people like a little salt in their barley cereal. A lot of people also like peat and peat-smoke to influence their whiskies. Springbank is made for these people. This sample is a very prototypical Springbank, based on all of my prior experience. This is neither the best nor worst sample of Springbank I have encountered. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this sample a lot more than I had liked a bar sample of Springbank 15 yo previously. You really cannot tell the provenance of a bar sample, so that is not too surprising. I like this particular style well enough, but I like the more heavily peated and more heavily brined whiskies more

Springbank 15 has been a friend of mine for a long time. A whisky I keep coming back to again and again. And there is a simpel reason: it is a beautiful and very balanced whisky!

Nose: Full, rich sherry. Spices and wood. Lovely inviting scent. Palate: Thick taste full of sherry. Just a hint of smoke in the background. Perhaps some coconut? Full of differen spices. Very complex. Finish: Medium long and very balanced.

As you might have figured a whisky I really like. Will be coming back to this one again! I love Spingbank!!

Nose: Mild peat & Sherry - along with unique notes such as Hazelnut, Alka-Seltzer & something along the lines of struck matches. Slightly waxy and quite mineral with a faint coastal whiff...

Mouth: Along the same lines as the nose, but not as sweet as suggested. Very round. Zesty and nutty, with bitter herbs. Medium body.

Finish: Fairly long - lemony, nutty with hints of peat. Some juniper & orange.

Probably better off getting the 12yo if you can find it. Not the peaty/salty Springbank notes you might expect.

Springbank is rightly proud that all parts of its production, from malting to bottling, are carried out at the distillery. Not many distilleries can boast that so authenticity is at least assured.

The malt pours the colour of old gold, and has a characteristic piny aroma I associate with this distillery. Delve a little deeper and the aroma reveals coconut, vanillas and frangipane. Close to sublime!

A rich mouth feel is delivered with quite a strong alcoholic attack which is a pity as it detracts from the sweet flavours of pine, almonds and vanilla. The flavours become more dry and bitter through to the finish with coconuts and pine still present.

There is some class to this whisky in the aromas but the drinking experience is less fulfilling. A few smoother casks might have ironed out the bumps and pushed this malt into the 90’s, but I’m still a fan.

I have a feeling that once the discerning whisky drinking public grow to appreciate the particular flavour profile found in the Campbeltown malts they could become as vaunted as those from other coastal regions. The birth of Glengyle (Kilkerran) and rebirth of Glen Scotia bode well for the further development of this tiny region.

With everyone talking about the CV, the 10yo, the 12yo and the Cask Strength, one would almost forget there was a 15yo Springbank.

Nose: fresh nose,but a little waxy, dominant notes of orange peel, a whiff of honey, scents of iodine (seaweed) A second layer of subtle fruit, (pears, cherries, pineapple and bananas), sweet fudge, traces of sherry, leather, peat and oakiness.

Mouth: bitter and dry palate, a bit of smoke with a touch of lemon zest. Undertones of spice, soft notes of earthy peat.

Finish: Lasting and dry, elements of genever (juniper), lemon, leather and noticeable traces of peat and tar.

Conclusion: I love Springbank and it was an excellent whisky, but I was not really blown away by it. It is not a real step up from the 12 or the 10yo. That being said, it doesn't need to, it is an enjoyable smooth whisky with a most enjoyable nose. Not overly complex, but an artisanal tour the force.

This Campbeltown distillery does get a tad confusing. Springbank, Hazleburn, Kilkerran are all made there. But then there's Glengyle - I know it's annexed to Springbank but is it actually the same distillery or independent? I can't ever recall seeing bottles released under the Glengyle name.

No matter - this is a straight up 15yo Springbank which starts with a massive dollop of salt on the nose - mouthwatering on its own. Underneath that there is a subtle soft fruitiness, (pears, bananas) but not too strong. Very slight sweet fudge and oakiness too. After time, I can even detect a slight seaweed hint. Very complex but everything is very subtle - nothing stands out except the saltiness.

Sweet and sour palate. It starts off soft and sweet but then I got a really nice sharp tang - like a lemon boiled sweet, (acid drops almost). The saltiness is there but nowhere near as much as I expected from the nose. A bit of smokiness too. The mouthfeel is relatively thin. This then gives way to a lasting dry and astringent finish - just the way I like it!

Non-Chill Filtered, no colouring, no fancy finishing and an independent distillery. This is no nonsense natural whisky just the way it should be! (Not that I have anything against different cask finishes but sometimes it's good to appreciate a straight-down-the-line no messing single malt).

The Springbank 15 yr old is just great after a salmon dinner. Its sherry flavors with light smoke a just a delight. I haven't been a big fan of Springbank until recently when a friend gave me a dram of the 12 yr old Claret Wood. I bought some of it along with the 15 yr old. I have been converted! I would rate it an 88.

Some time ago I was fortunate enough to receive a kiss from a lovely girl I was very much interested in at the time. I recall the kiss as having a soft, delicate sweetness about it yet with the hidden presence of a deeper passion that could potentially be unlocked with the passage of time. For me, if this “kiss” could be bottled, it would take the form of the Springbank 15 Year Old.

Upon nosing I get notes of honey, brown sugar, vanilla, port and a slight smell of cocoa. The sherry influence is quite clear upon the first inhalation. Upon tasting, the most prevalent characteristic is the balance (which is excellent). The vanilla from the nosing is present along with butter, and a hint of salted chocolate as it reaches the back of the mouth. The finish ended a little too soon (much like the kiss) but it was nonetheless pleasant while it lasted and the memories lingered.

Overall, I feel this is a wonderfully balanced whisky that would be the sort of thing I could wind down to after a long day at work or on the road. I would recommend this to someone who is interested in the Campbeltown or Islay regions, but not quite ready to tackle a peat monster. This is actually the first Springbank I have tried so I am very interested in tasting some of their older expressions – I feel with a little age the character and complexity of the scotch would turn what is a very pleasant experience into a very memorable drink (and for the record if the older Springbanks are similar to the subsequent kisses from the aforementioned lass I will be a very happy man indeed).

Vanilla, earl grey, and seaweed meld into a quintessential seafaring whiskey.

Nose: Oak, citrus, dark suger, caramel and candy sweets

Taste: Lively and spicy. citrus and lemon, bubbly and butter. Some fudge. Light summer flowers and at the same time malt and soil.

Summary: A really really nice dram, love it. It really like the "hand-made" feeling to it. A great long finish that want me to go to Campbeltown and Springbank for a visit. Some nice thick feeling and at the same time light fresh. A great whisky after a great dinner. Note, I tried this one together with a Glenfarclas 21yo and think this one was one notch better.

This is my first Campbeltown, and I am very excited about it. There are a couple Springbank whiskies I have been looking at and trying to decide upon at the local shop, but I wanted to taste this 15yr I received as a sample first. I am not sure what to expect from it, honestly.

The Springbank 15yr is 100% matured in ex-sherry casks, and is bottled at 46%.

Nose: Smoke and spice! A bit of pepper. This is definitely a close cousin of Islay whiskies. Some salty sea air comes through after the smoke. There is just a hint of pear in there somewhere. I'm returning to the nose after the first taste, and I am still not getting the sherry influence. Perhaps this is because I just tasted the Sonnalta PX and Nectar D'Or from Glenmorangie, but I really expected a better performance from a whisky that was 100% matured for 15 years in sherry casks.

Body: Medium body, with a rich mouth feel.

Palate: Spicy! A bit of smoke coming through. A touch salty. On my second sip, I am getting just a hint of fruit. Honeydew melon? Not really sweet.

Finish: Smoke, salt & pepper.

This is a good whisky, but it doesn't really hold true to the tasting notes offered by the distillery: "sherry, dark chocolate, christmas cake, almonds, toffee..." I just don't get any of this. Too bad, as it sounds great! =/

This is my first Cambeltown Whisky and what a real pleasure. On the nose there is toffee, honey and sea-spray with a hint of spicecake and oranges, on the palate its smooth and buttery with honey and smoke developing around the edges with a dry rich orange and oaky finish. Perfect with a with a smooth Guantanamera Cristales cigar.

Noticeable surprisingly (although I consider myself a novice) was the difference in the miniature and the 70cl bottle, the former having a far more defined sea salt aroma, unless I'm all whiskey'd out having tried quite a few new malts this past couple of weeks.

I tasted this one also during my trip to Springbank and bought a bottle of it too. This is Springbank 15 years old has matured 100% sherry casks. That is very easily noticed from the nose. The sherry and caramel sweetness in the taste leaves nice "legs" in your mouth. Additionally all the spices in the taste can be compared with traditional Xmas pudding. This whiskey would be perfect to be enjoyed with it too.