March 2, 2015

Indulging in Springbank again

We’ll first have the newish (well, I might be a bit late) ‘Green’ and then unwind with two older Springbanks. Or Springers, as some like to call them.

Springbank 12 yo ‘Green’ (46%, OB, organic barley, 9000 bottles, 2014)

This baby came out in December last year, and it’s not the same kind of ‘green Springbank’ that Cadenhead had quite a while back. Those were actually green, while this one’s just organic. Hope it’ll be more to my liking than the organic 7yo ‘Da Mhile’ from round ten years ago. Colour: white wine. Nose: were well at Springbank, but it’s a tad more porridgy and yeasty than usual, while the sooty side remains there. Nosing a can of pickled gherkins, fresh paint, damp gravel, and clay. The oak’s influence is rather minimal. Mouth: sooty lemons, ashes, smoked things, brine, a touch of honeydew, a chewy mouth feel. Green apple peelings, walnuts, some mustard, quite a lot of nutmeg… It’s a Jansenist’s Springbank! The smoke’s rather bigger than usual. Finish: quite long, spicy, ashy, salty. Comments: the distillate does all the talking, and it talks well (albeit with a strange accent ;-)). One of the austere Springbanks, right up my alley. SGP:364 - 87 points.

Burnside 15 yo (46%, Eaglesome Ltd., 1993)

So, this Burnside isn’t Balvenie in disguise (or teaspooned Balvenie), it’s well a single malt from Springbank, bottled in 1993 by one of their sub-companies, Eaglesome. Colour: pale amber. Nose: jawohl! Archtypical Springbank from that time, with a coastal sootiness that was toned down a bit, and many more honeyed notes. It’s very beehivy, as I like to say, with nectar, ripe mirabelles, pollen and nectar, beeswax and all that. Stunning whiffs of fruitcake and pipe tobacco, plenty of raisins and quite some sweet raisiny sherry, a bit ‘PX’. Everything’s in place, this is flawless. The touches of menthol that arise make me think of some great old Sauternes – starting with a Y. Mouth: as an Italian friend uses to say, ‘you drink this, you cry’. With tears of joy, of course. An avalanche of sooty raisins, smoked honey pearls, salted overripe plums and, well, regular tobacco. The strength is perfect, the mouthfeel is perfect. Classic stuff. Finish: long, rich, but with a growing dryness that will let your palate clean and fresh. Comments: I don’t think this baby was 15 years old sharp. There must have been some older juice poured into the vatting tank. SGP:552 - 90 points.

Good, as the last one, let’s try to find one that was bottled around the same era…

Springbank 19 yo 1972 (46%, OB, +/-1991)

We already had another 1972 that was bottled for Taiwan around 1991 as well. It was good, if not totally great. Colour: gold. Nose: we’re very close to the Burnside. A tad oilier and more mineral, a notch less raisiny and sherried. Long story short, this is brilliant. Mouth: same feeling, word for word. This profile is directly connected to that of today’s Springbanks, with maybe just more sherry wood. Finish: long, on smoked raisins, mineral notes, bitter oranges and salt. I mean, a feeling of salt. Comments: identity, character, idiosyncracies and differences. Pretty pleasant combo. SGP:453 - 91 points. (and gracias, Jeroen)

Check the index of all Springbank I've tasted so far

	February 2015
	Favourite recent bottling: None in February Favourite older bottling: Port Ellen 12 yo (OB, The Queen’s Visit to Port Ellen’s Maltings, 1980) - WF 99 Favourite bang for your buck bottling: None in February

Favourite malternative:
Demerara 32 yo 1975/2008 (57%, Norse Cask, barrel #1231, 178 bottles) - WF 90