The beautiful little town of Campbeltown is located at Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula in the south-west of Scotland and has about 5000 inhabitants. Of the 34 (!) distilleries that once operated in the town that understandably was called the whisky capital of the world, there are only three active today. In the 1850's the town was the richest in the UK per capita precisely because of the whisky. The decline came swiftly and decisively and in 1926 there were only three distilleries left. The reason for the decline is debated but one of the major reasons was probably the railways that were built in the Highlands which facilitated transport and thus outcompeted the whisky from Campbeltown. The town is today back on its feet and today it's mainly the tourism industry along with fishing and agriculture that employ people. The three distilleries active today are Springbank, Glengyle, and Glen Scotia.
Originally Springbank was a farm that had an illegal distillery. In 1828 the Reid family obtained the license to distill and in 1837 brothers John and William Mitchell bought the distillery. Springbank is still owned by the Mitchell family and is thus today one of the few distilleries that are still family owned, which is very much reflected in the quality of the whisky they produce. Springbank had to close down in 1926 because of the difficult times during the Depression. Thanks to a talented and determined leadership, as well as a good reputation they managed to start again in 1933. In 1960 they chose not to continue their own malting as the supply of grain declined. In 1992, however, the malting floors at Springbank underwent extensive restoration. They wanted better control of the process to ensure the quality and began to buy barley from local farms.
In the early 70's Springbank launched a smokier line of whisky called Longrow and in 1997 an unpeated whisky with a mild lowland character with the name of Hazelburn; both named after old Campbeltown distilleries. All of the whisky produced at Springbank are made in the same equipment, but the times the different whisky's are distilled differs. Longrow is distilled twice, Springbank two and a half times and Hazelburn three times.
Springbank has always valued tradition and handles the entire process from malting to bottling on the distillery. Coloring or chill filtering is out of the question. Very little has undergone modernization and currently there are about 50 people employed in the company (30 in the production.) A lot of the equipment is very old; the mash tun is for instance over 100 years old. The production is on about a quarter of its capacity, and they don't wish to increase the output and begin to compete with larger distilleries, but instead rather stick to a more exclusive production. The capacity is currently 750000 liters per year, but they choose to produce around 170000 liters. The philosophy is clearly quality before quantity. All this makes for a more expensive process, which is reflected in the price per bottle for the consumer. Is it worth it? That question gets a BIG YES from me; I gladly pay the extra quid for a handcrafted whisky to support a family owned business.
Springbank gets its water from the Crosshill Loch on the slopes of the mountain Ben Ghuilean. The meltwater is soft and rich peat and considered to be important for the final flavor of the whisky. The barley, which they try to get from local farms to the extent that it's possible, is malted on their own malting floors. The barley is turned over by hand by two people working eight hour shifts. Annually about 25 tons of barley is malted. Over 50 tonnes of peat is bought from Tomintoul each year. For the Springbank whisky the barley is dried with six hours of peat smoke and with hot air for 30 hours. The final peat level ends up at around 15 ppm. Hazelburn uses entirely unpeated barley and thus has 0 ppm of phenols. Longrow that has an intense smokiness and compete with the toughest whisky's of Islay and is smoked for an entire 50 hours until it reaches phenol levels of 50 ppm. Additionally, the wash still is fired by a live flame, which adds an estery dimension that is lacking in modern malt whisky.
Springbank 10
ABV: 46%
Age: 10yo
Region: Campbeltown
Cask type: A mix of 60% bourbon matured and 40% sherry cask matured
Price: Around ~55-60 USD / 0.7L
Natural color & non-chill filtered
The bottle: Aesthetically sleek. Both bottle and label exude class and tradition!
Color: Straw.
Nose: Tart sweetness, much like a freshly baked rhubarb pie. There's also orange peel and hints of chocolate and vanilla embraced by an elegant whiff of smoke. This is a typical Springbank and I'm starting to become lyrical.
Palate: The first thing that I notice is the sweetness and floral aromas. Then the arrival of peppery and smoky aromas that in a nice way embeds the sweetness with a shade of sulfur and oaky sherry and leather. The rhubarb pie and vanilla custard have followed from the wonderful nose. Perhaps some poached pears in there as well and a slight saltiness that helps with the balance.
Finish: The aftertaste is wonderfully complex and long, and the vanilla sweetness is dancing a seductive dance with the elegant and light smoke.
Conclusion: Although ten years is a relatively short period in terms of maturation for malt whisky, this bottle shines like the brightest diamond and shows no sign of youthfulness. Complex, powerful, yet elegant whisky, and probably the greatest 10-12 year old out there, I dare to say. If you're about to buy a bottle of whisky and this one is within your budget, please don't hesitate. It's extremely important that we support this family distillery and keep the tradition going. 95 heartfelt points out of 100. 💖
I'll finish with the fun little tune “Campbeltown Loch, I Wish Ye Were Whisky” by Andy Stewart.
