Springbank 12 YO Claret

I see I left off the Sequential part scores from the review. They are as follows:

Nose: 22/25 points

Taste: 23/25 points

Finish: 21.5/25 points

Balance: 22.5/25 points

Total Sequential Score: 89/100 points

Thanks for reviewing this one @Victor. I've not had too many Springbanks but this one is a favourite of mine. If I recall correctly it picked up steam about a year after I opened it but it was always gassed.

It's unfortunate that this expression was a one-off, part of their wood experiments. Only about 9000 bottles released and I was lucky enough to buy a few of them when they could be found in Calgary. My brother in law has one socked away as well.

This is probably the most distinctive (good) whisky that I've had. It has the sweetness of a whisky matured in ex-sherry or ex-wine, but it's sharp, rather than being big and round and deep like a'bunadh or what-have-you.

Here's an abridged paste of my comments on this whisky from another website:

"I call it sharp, fresh, sweet, rich, and sharp (sic). And drying at the end, which I like. And awesome. And, really, unique among all whiskies I’ve had in my career so far (~six years of regular single malt drinking). Granted, I’ve had just a handfull of sherried malts (a’bunadh, Macallan, Benrinnes, Mortlach) and very few other wine-finished malts (Bruichladdich Rocks, some of those Glenorangie things)—but this Springbank Claret is the only one I’ve had from that world that combines the rich sweetness with a pointy sharpness that keeps it from being heavy and dull. I love this. It’s not an everyday bottle for me, but when I need a break from the cheapies and the peaters, nothing’s better.

Springbank continues its streak of producing the only non-peated whiskies that I really get excited about. I really wish I’d been cool enough to grab those other wood finishes from the same era, especially the Madeira.

This was a stellar buy at $80. I’d call it at 89."

I lucked into a Calvados finish, but I have yet to try it.

@Nozinan, are you still sitting on a hoard of these?

I wish I was! I came across my sample bottle last night as I packed for an upcoming move, and it took some willpower to not open it then & there and just guzzle away. I'm surprised by my own comments above (from my Ol' Jas days) where I pegged this only at 89. In my memory now, it's like a 95. I guess I'll see what I think when I do open that sample bottle.

@MadSingleMalt Sadly, not a hoard. I think I purchased 5 in all, 2 are finished. My brother in law had one too.

I think my tastes have changed since I ranked the CW a 90. I think I'd have to go and re-discover it again. Maybe in a year or 2 when some of this open stock has been taken down a notch or 2.