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Springbank 21 Year Old

Average score from 2 reviews and 3 ratings 90

Springbank 21 Year Old

Product details

  • Brand: Springbank
  • Bottler: Distillery Bottling
  • ABV: 43.0%

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@markjedi1
Springbank 21 Year Old

Springbank 21 Year Old is a widely acclaimed malt. An instant classic, so to speak. It's not cheap, it's true, but every time it's announced, it's a race to get a bottle. If you dally too long, the price rises dizzyingly fast. This release, bottled in 2021, will unfortunately cost you about 600 EUR, which is too crazy top put ino words. The vatting of this most recent release is 35% sherry, 30% bourbon & 35% port!

The nose is immediately blissfully waxy. A cart full of hay, toffee, banana, beach sand in the sun, sultanas, soft peat, hint of strawberry jam, stone fruit in jute bags. Incredibly good and complex nose. It is absolutely not difficult to sit here for ten full minutes smelling this before even feeling the urge to put it on the lips.

But in the end you do, of course, and you are spoilt beyond words. Apricots, peach, strawberry, banana, quince, gooseberry, mango... what a panoply of fruit! And then those typical notes like slate, jute bags and soft camphor. Something of ginger. Something of sweet and sour peat. Something of sea salt. Something of mint. Boy, oh boy, what a party!

The finish is long, smoky and sweet. The smoke clears relatively quickly to leave you with an impression of tropical fruit on the tongue. I am in seventh heaven.

Yes, just sit down for a moment. This is an experience. Thank you for the sample, Maarten!

n

This is from the 2013 release.

from a purchased sample

Nose: Hmm. Not quite what I expected, which was more sherry notes like some of the older Springbanks. It's obviously very good and well made. Sweet barley, a dollop of cream and sugar, a touch of salt. You know how this goes. Slight smoke and wax, lemon, and apple skin. Hints of crumbling goat cheese. With time, mango, peach, apricot, and that sort of thing. Very nice.

Palate: Really delightful and easy. More on the same yellow-peach-apricot-mango fruits with a little sugary honey. Salt, wax, and more of that cheesy note. It's very mellow, and the wood has a few points where it's relatively prominent.

Finish: Sugar crystallized barley, salt, mango, wax, and subtle oil. The fruit is a bit light, but it's very pleasant and tasty. It's just not as complex and impressive as some of the older versions, and with far less sherry.

Yeah, that bottle was ridiculous and apparently came up. You're right that its not bad by any stretch, but for the cost and compared to expectations from previous bottles of the 21, it came up short. When it was released, I was soooo close to getting a bottle, but am pleased as heck that I didn't!

what about that hilarious visual of the old bottle. gads, I haven't seen a bottle like that in years. . . .

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