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Springbank 18 Year Old

Old enough to drink

10 489

WReview by @Wierdo

13th Dec 2018

1

Springbank 18 Year Old
  • Nose
    ~
  • Taste
    ~
  • Finish
    ~
  • Balance
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  • Overall
    89

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

My first bottle of Springbank 18.

Bottle has been open for 2 months and I've had 5 or 6 drams from it.

I've never known a whisky change so much after the bottle was opened as this one. The first dram was very rich and fruity. The flavour reference I made a mental note of was black forest gateau. I left it a week, went back to it and it was completely different. Most of the fruity notes had gone and it was much drier and savoury. It's remained fairly consistent in profile since.

Nose

Gingerbread, white wine vinegar, mint leaves, white pepper a certain oakiness.

Palate

Barley sugar, bananabread, golden grahams cereal, hot cross buns, buttered toast. As it develops it becomes salty.

Finish is long, drying and a little sour, with some peat.

So. Another great Springbank. Clearly made by people who know what they are doing. Clearly not for the beginner. Much to admire about it. But I don't love it. I think I prefer the power of the 12 year old and the 15 which is a simpler whisky for spending a little time in sherry casks (I said simpler, I didn't say simple, Springbank don't make simple whisky). It's great. But for the price I can have a bottle each of the 10 and 15 and I think that is the better option.

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4 comments

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@Wierdo I found the same dramatic change in the 15 after about a third of the bottle was gone. The 10 is so good that I find it hard to justify spending the extra (much extra) for the 15 or 18.

6 years ago 6Who liked this?

W
Wierdo commented

@BlueNote in terms of bang for your buck the 10 is excellent value. The 12 at 50% more expensive than the 10 is worth it I feel for being at cask strength and also the additional 2 years. After that it's the normal whisky story of the law of diminishing returns.

I just missed out on the local barley 9 year old release this year. I mentioned on the Springbank fans page on Facebook that it had instantly sold out and was being sold at £120 a bottle by flippers. One of the guys very kindly offered to send me a bottle at the normal retail price. I was tempted but declined. Even at normal retail price (£80+) it's a lot of money for a 9 year old.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC commented

Nice review @Wierdo. I'd definitely want to try this but after trying the 15 and reading reviews of the 18 (even Serge seems to think the younger Springbanks are where it's at - generally) I'll probably stick with the 10 and 12 CS. Maybe one to get a sample of but, as you say, they change so much that you would only really be getting a small snap shot.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 commented

@Wierdo Where is the funky side of Springbank? The 12 CS is my favorite (it may sound strange, but I find that the12 offers the best balance) but I am curious about the 18.

5 years ago 0