Springbank 12 yo 1989/2002 (54.6%, OB 'Wood Expressions', rum finish, 5700 bottles)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: funny how these batches start to come across as pretty 'old fashioned' these days; it's certainly from the 'less likely' era of production at Springbank with all these impressions of crushed greenery, swimming pool water, clay, chalk and oily toolbox rags. What's good though is that it still feels rather 'Springbank' and not totally swamped by overt rum. With water: peppery and still very much on clay and mineral oils, but I can't help but find it overall a tad flat. Mouth: a bit funny really, on sheep wools, clays, ointments, old metal coins, metal polish and slightly sooty and cardboardy qualities. It's ok, but I'm not too sure… with water: a feeling of plainness now almost, with these notes of wet grains, vegetable soup, some aniseed, some more clay, perhaps a glimmer of medicine. Finish: medium, quite peppery, a tad salty and more clay and chalk. Comments: Not sure what to say, these weren't the greatest vintages to be honest. There's not much wrong with it, I just find it rather flat and a little empty.
SGP: 352 - 79 points.

Longrow 13 yo 1989/2002 (53.2%, OB 'Wood Expressions' sherry, 2350 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: quite medicinal, but more a lighter shade of Longrow I would say. The peat doesn't immediately leap out at you as in later vintages. This is more on seawater, dry roast peanuts, bandages and a few hints of mechanical oils and smoked lemons. With water: chamomile tea, bonfire embers and miso. A rather umami profile emerges. Mouth: softer peat smoke and a feeling of burnt toast, graphite oil and smoky bacon crisps. Some unusual things, and once again with this rather industrial side too. Some camphor and black pepper come with a little time. The sherry is there, but rather subdued, was this refill sherry? With water: better now I think, more focussed on tarry rope, camphor, soft peppery peat smoke and some rather sharp salinity. Finish: good length, a tad vegetal and rustic in places, but still with nice peppery and smoky bacon qualities showing. Comments: a nice wee drop, but once again, as with Springbank, I feel they really improved production a few years later.
SGP: 464 - 83 points.

Springbank 13 yo 1989/2003 (54.2%, OB 'Wood Expressions', port pipes, 3120 bottles)
Colour: rose-amber. Nose: the port wood definitely has a louder voice here than the rum did in the previous Springbank. Which I feel actually works in this instance so far, it's rather sticky with dark fruits, plum sauce, sultanas, Madeira cake and things like red berry fruits and sweet children's cough medicines. With water: wild strawberries, baked bananas, cherry lip gloss and a little eucalyptus - very lovely actually. Mouth: a little too jammy on arrival for me, moves more into the territory of wine finishes than port in some respects with these notes of shiraz, strawberry jam and balsamic onion. Juicy but a bit flabby in texture and not quite sure of itself. With water: much better! Loses this overtly jammy side and becomes a bit more balanced displays this nice mix of red fruits, sultanas, bramble leaf and nettle tea. One stray bandage reminds us there was once some peat involved here. Finish: medium and rather sweet, on red fruit teas, jams, fruit cordials and liquorice. Comments: quite a ride. The nose was overall pretty excellent, but an imbalanced wobble on the neat palate was saved by water. I was teetering all over the place with a score, but the fun side of this one has won me over in the end…
SGP: 552 - 85 points.

Springbank 12 yo 1990/2003 (52.4%, OB 'Wood Expressions', sherry butts, 1799 bottles)
Colour: pale amber. Nose: a rather 'Springbank' style of sherry, with all this gun metal, flints, game meats, animal furs and hints of treacle, natural tar and wood embers. There's also a touch of herbal cough mix and smoked paprika. I'm quite a fan, thus far. With water: salted liquorice, fennel seed, cough medicines and wormwood. A nice herbal / medical profile emerging. Mouth: all on roasted mixed nuts, milk chocolate, paprika, chilli oil, coal dust and bandages. A definite 'mid era' profile of Springbank, but it kind of works with this rather gamey sherry style - it's certainly charismatic. With water: goes more towards the earthier aspects. Things like aged pinot noir, BBQ sauce, dry roast peanuts and aged orange peels. Finish: good length and pretty earthy, but also quite a few dark ales, rye bread and umami vibes such as miso and marmite. Comments: 'robust' you might say. Of this era of production, I would say this is one of the better/more interesting examples. At times it was maybe on the cusp of being a little too weird or grubby, but it always pulled back from the edge.
SGP: 462 - 86 points.

Springbank 12 yo 1991/2004 (58.5%, OB 'Wood Expressions', bourbon hogsheads & barrels, 5986 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: a totally different story! All on hay, limestone, wet rocks, chalk and lemon barley water. Also very slight touches of soot, bandages, seawater and heather flowers. Clean, crisp and refreshing. With water: more on dusty malt bins, grist, mash water and oatcakes. It has that 'working distillery' vibe about it. Mouth: rather chiselled and focussed on minerals, pebbles, white flowers, chalk and hints of shoe polish, watercress and a little mustard powder. Very good, but quite a world apart from the current 10yo for example. With water: rounder, fatter and waxier now. On lemon barley water, dry and delicate peat smoke, hessian and coal dust. Still also rather focussed on raw ingredients and slightly yeasty aspects. Finish: medium, dry, rather hot and peppery, and still on breads, beers, ink, mash water and yeast. Comments: of its time, but a very good dram in its own right, you just need to like them rather raw and rugged!
SGP: 362 - 85 points.

Springbank 14 yo 1989/2004 (52.8%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 12 years in refill sherry + 2 years in fresh port pipes, 7200 bottles)
Colour: light amber. Nose: slightly sharp and tangy with fruit acids, plum wine and hints of cellar must and hessian. Also touches of metal polish and lamp oil with some dried dark fruits. So far the sherry and port combination works pretty well I would say. With water: more on tobaccos and damp cellar earth with some sweeter dark fruity notes such as damson preserve and fig. Mouth: same feeling of tanginess, you could be munching on a Tangfastic. There's also some cherry cough medicine, red currants, pink grapefruit and Tizer! These kinds of sharp and popping fruity notes mixed with darker notes of hessian, bitter chocolate and earth which actually anchor the whole thing rather well. With water: a little more about the Springbank now, with some lightly peppery peat smoke and hints of bonfire embers, anthracite and a dry waxiness. Finish: good length, rather peppery, earthy, sooty and going towards hessian rags, toolbox oils and metal polish. A solitary sultana bobbing about in the aftertaste. Comments: better than expected I would say. The sherry and port seemed to have knocked each other into some kind of cohesive and well-balanced shape, while the distillery character emerges blinking into the sun with a little water. Very good.
SGP: 563 - 87 points.

Longrow 10 yo 1995/2005 (55.6%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 8 years in refill wood + 2 years in fresh Tokaji, 7440 bottles)
I remember this one causing some ripples of conversation upon release at the time. A divisive dram that seemed to create adulation and repulsion in equal measure. Although, it has been so long since I tried it, I can't actually remember what I think of it anymore. Let's find out… Colour: amber. Nose: beefy! Literally, lots of beef stock, Bovril, bitter dark chocolate powder, suet, venison sausages, gravy and in time this rather tarry, grubby peat smoke emerging too. I have to say, it's rather a lot of fun, but I can see why it would divide the crowd! In time it gets more towards these mulchy, mushroomy and earthy qualities. With water: very leafy, earthy, chocolatey and full of damp pipe tobaccos, pickled walnuts, game salami and a little treacle. Mouth: extreme stuff! Very earthy and meaty once again but at the same time almost jarringly sweet and sticky on botrytis, booze soaked raisins, Christmas pudding and glazed walnuts. Pulls you in different directions simultaneously. With water: sweetness again, verging on cloying probably, but some nicely spice-infused smokiness brings it back. Dry roast peanuts, bonfire embers and black pepper all coming through a little later on. Still globally very meaty, earthy and… chunky. Finish: long, very earthy, some grubby meaty vibes, soot, leather, tobacco and developing a nice herbal bitterness in there too. Still an extreme style though. Comments: easy to see why this would be such a divisive whisky. There's a meatiness that strays into challenging territories at times, and which can jar a bit with the residual sweetness of the Tokaji on the palate (not much flushing of casks went on here I expect) but overall there's a charm about it which is hard to refute. I suspect it'll remain a divisive one forever. In fact, I just checked Serge's original notes from 2005 and it looks like he was not at all impressed (WF49). Ha! Maybe this one has improved with 17 years (yes, 17!!!) in glass. Or perhaps I'm just a bit of a softie? Irrespectively, my key takeaway here is: I want a glass of Tokaji!
SGP:674 - 78 (rather meaningless) points.

Springbank 9 yo 1996/2006 (58.0%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 7 years in refill bourbon + 2 years in fresh marsala, 7740 bottles)
Marsala being a fortified Italian wine which can be dry or sweet. Colour: deep gold. Nose: feels like rather sweet Marsala involved here as there's an immediate sticky dark fruit sweetness going on. Brown breads, sweet ruby ales, coal smoke, honey cake and plum wine. Also wee touches of treacle and hessian. With water: touches of blood orange and grenadine now, also some pink grapefruit. Feels like it's becoming overall a little fruitier and lighter on its feet. Mouth: more assertive distillery character here with this nice mix of mechanical oils, soft waxes, peat embers and dried herbs. Some pink peppercorns, sandalwood and chai tea impressions too. Fun and rather complex in fact. With water: becomes a tad more bitter and a bit greener now, goes towards lemongrass, chlorophyll and herbal teas. Finish: medium in length and nicely peppery with ginger and cinnamon. Comments: overall a simpler offering and I think the marsala on this occasion works quite well.
SGP: 562 - 84 points.

Springbank 16 yo 1991/2007 (54.2%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 8 years in refill bourbon + 8 years in fresh rum, 5100 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: rather mashy and fermentary at first with beers, breads, hay and this rather rugged gristy vibe. After that some medicines like tiger balm, then lemon verbena and cider apple funk. With water: on funny things now like ink, vinyl, vase water and brand new trainers. More green things like chlorophyll and crushed flower stems. Mouth: same sort of mashup of farmyard notes, breads, yeasty qualities and light medicinal qualities. Still rather sharp and a little salty, green apples, mineral salts, lime peel and chalk. Getting a bit drying now as well and feeling a bit austere. With water: a touch of barley sweetness comes skulking back, but generally still rather on greenery, light salinity, faint medicinal vibes and mashy cereal notes. Finish: medium in length. Rather crisp, green - acidic even - and sharp. Comments: I'm not sure I get much rum influence. Having said that, I don't get much classic Springbank character either. There's plenty attractive qualities going on here, but it feels like it's a little bit adrift.
SGP: 462 - 82 points.

Longrow 7 yo 2000/2008 (55.8%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 5.5 years in refill bourbon + 1.5 years in fresh Gaja Barolo, 12120 bottles)
Colour: bright copper. Nose: quite a big, fermentary themed peat smoke with lots of pepper, aniseed, tar and marmalade on the boil. Tipping over into slightly overripe oranges - which Serge seems to find frequently in these winey Longrows - with sooty and farmyard vibes bustling about too. With water: more leathery, more earthy, some tobaccos, mushroom powder, graphite and a wee hint of rubber. Mouth: playful and rather impressively peaty, but also comes with a slightly jarring sense of the peat and wine fighting for supremacy. Some sticky preserved fruits, pickled onions and smoked meats. With water: feels a bit more cohesive now. Bouillon, soot, mashed turnip, whisky cream (shall we say Haggis as well?) hessian, more slightly musty citrus fruits and this rather typical Longrow peppery peaty flavour. Finish: good length, some damp grainy notes, a nicely earthy, gruff smokiness and notes of real ale. Comments: I'm a little surprised, on paper I shouldn't enjoy this combo, but it works pretty well on this occasion.
SGP: 665 - 84 points.

Springbank 11 yo 1997/2009 (55.1%, OB 'Wood Expressions', madeira wood, 9090 bottles)
I remember buying a bottle of this one from Loch Fyne Whiskies at the time it was released and thoroughly enjoying it… Colour: orangey gold. Nose: yup, an excellent saltiness on top of some resinous dark fruit notes, hessian, dunnage must and some rather mineral, medicinal-tinged peat smoke. Also things like honey-glazed ham, camphor and natural tar extract. Excellent, and showing bags of distillery character. With water: treacle, soot, menthol tobacco, hardwood resins and a sense of wine must and bodega funk (sorry, I know this is madeira!) Mouth: big arrival! All on natural tar, sticky dark fruits, smoked meats, herbal bitters, aniseed, salted Dutch liquorice and more camphor and hessian qualities. Really thick in the mouth and wonderfully peppery and waxy. With water: becomes juicier and fruitier, a rather playful sweetness that incorporates red fruits, bramble wine, and then medical aspects like a drop of iodine and cough medicine. Finish: long, tarry, peppery, elegantly sweet, medicinal and lightly herbal in the aftertaste. Comments: I still love it, although I wonder if it hasn't improved with a decade in glass, becoming more rounded and complex than I remember. Or perhaps time is just doing its thing on my brain? Anyway, the full term maturation in great quality casks, combined with an undeniably tip-tip vintage for Springbank has really worked here.
SGP: 552 - 89 points.

Springbank 12 yo 1997/2010 (54.4%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 9 years in refill bourbon + 3 years in fresh claret, 9360 bottles)
Claret of course being red wine from Bordeaux, although we don't know the chateau. Colour: bright coppery amber. Nose: bright and sweet red fruitiness, with amaretto biscuits, strawberry jam, orange peel and eucalyptus oil. I rather like this sweet and aromatic profile thus far. With water: ever so slightly more earthy and showing tobaccos and sweet red liquorice - still very attractive and easy. Mouth: sweet and concentrated on red fruits again, also with this slightly minty note of… well, of mint. But also bramble leaf, cassis, treacle and these sorts of fruity children's medicines such as Calpol. I am a little discombobulated, but I rather enjoy this… With water: sweet marmalade, orange muscat wine, treacle pudding, bergamot and a little black pepper. There's also this faint vibe of game meats and dark chocolate. Finish: good length, rather a lot of earthy dark teas, blackcurrant, treacle and some dark fruit compotes. Comments: what was that? Probably one of my favourites finished Springbanks, I love this fusion of sweet, fruity, earthy and medicinal. Not to mention the fact that there's absolutely no cloying or disjointed aspects coming from the wine that I can detect. 1997 seems to be when they were truly back on form at Springbank.
SGP: 652 - 87 points.

Hazelburn 8 yo 2002/2011 (55.9%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 5 years in refill bourbon + 3 years in Sauternes casks, 9180 bottles)
I don't think I ever tasted this one before, but I am generally a fan of sauternes wood maturation… Colour: amber. Nose: much more on heather honey and stewed fruits than the others, so more typically Hazelburn I suppose with this sense of lightness and sweetness. Beneath, though, there's also some rather Springbank-esque hessian and soft waxy notes too. A wee tobacco pouch and some sultanas. Very attractive! With water: more open and aromatic, on leather, leaf mulch, dark chocolate and figs stewed sweet wines. A touch of shoe polish and something slightly more mechanical showing after a while. Mouth: soft, sweet and with a lot of gelatinous fruitiness, dark fruit compotes, treacle, some impressions of old Armagnac and candied citrus peels. Feels considerably older than 8 years. Still these lovely honey, tobacco leaf and dark fruit qualities in balance. With water: once again this terrific fusion of oils, tobaccos, sultanas, prunes, heather honey, black coffee and chocolate. I have to say, superb! Finish: long, treacley, sweetly fruity, honeyed and with many sticky dark fruits and earthy tobacco notes. Comments: Once again, Sauternes seems to work some magic. Probably my favourite of all the younger Hazelburn OBs. I had good feels about this one but it still came as something of a surprise I have to say, totally love this mulchy, sweet and very tobacco driven profile.
SGP: 751 - 88 points.

Longrow 14 yo 1997/2011 (56.1%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 11 years in refill bourbon + 3 years in fresh burgundy, 7800 bottles)
Colour: orangey amber. Nose: not sure I get a huge amount of peat up front on this one, it's more on very sticky fruit compotes, jams, quince and treacle. There's a resinous saltiness in the background though, along with some oily hessian cloth, which feels a bit more Longrowish. Overall a little closed on the neat nose though. With water: not sure water helps, loses definition and feels very sickly and spicy but also a bit disjointed and kind of floppy. Mouth: peated orange squash and wine must. Apricot jam slathered on honey glazed ham, dusted with cupboard spices and washed down with cherry cough syrup. Pretty difficult I think. With water: very syrupy, jarringly sweet and again feeling flabby and generally rather wobbling all over the place. Weird artificially sweetened medicine flavours with some rotting orange peels. Finish: medium in length but a tad flat, musty and bitter, some more of these rather rotten fruit notes and becoming much more drying. Comments: Not a fan of this one at all I'm afraid. Started out unlikely, then got weird, then became just not very good in my view. Longrow + Burgundy = carnage in my wee opinion I'm afraid.
SGP: 363 - 71 points.

Springbank 12 yo 2000/2012 (52.7%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 6 years in refill bourbon + 6 years in fresh Calvados casks, 9420 bottles)
I remember this one being released and it feels rather intensely like it was only last week. Therein lies whisky's true power: the warping of time and memory. Anyway, not too sure Calvados wood is technically permitted by the SWA? But then of course they now allow Tequila for Diageo, so not sure they really have much credibility in telling smaller producers what the can and can't do… Colour: pale gold. Nose: could be mind tricks, but I do indeed detect apples and pears at first nosing. Apple pie, sweet breakfast cereals, soft waxes, putty, lemon oil and some orchard fruit teas. Also subtle green things like gooseberry, nettle and myrtle. Elegant, subtle and very attractive  so far. With water: fully on Springbank distillate now, lots of waxes, coastal freshness, mineral oils and soft green and citrus fruits in the background. Mouth: rather more on classical, good modern Springbank here, with lots of clay, beach pebbles, threads of peat and soft waxy notes. Some citrus rinds, sooty notes and smoky mashy flavours. With water: a little peatier, fatter, oilier and once again going more emphatically towards the distillery character - which is great of course! Nice dry waxiness, coastal notes, sandalwood and wee camphor notes. Finish: good length, nicely coastal, refreshingly mineral and with a wisp of peat smoke. Comments: an excellent drop, but I'm not sure what the Calvados really brings to the proceedings here. Feels like it's best qualities come in spite of the double maturation, not so much because of it.
SGP: 462 - 87 points.

Springbank 9 yo 2004/2013 (54.7%, OB 'Wood Expressions', 4 years in refill bourbon + 5 years in fresh Gaja Barolo casks, 11000 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: lemon and honey, not unlike nosing a hot toddy! Goes on with citrons, waxes, putty, lemon barley water, heather honey and some baked apples. A feeling of sweet young dessert wines more than Barolo to my nose. But certainly more restrained and elegant so far. With water: yellow plums, honey, delicate waxiness, sweet breakfast cereals and flower pollens. Mouth: some typical Springbank fatness with hessian and waxes mingling with stewed apricots, baked apple and various jammy tones. Feels like a Venn diagram of Springbank and generic wineyness with minimal crossover. But having said that, it's pretty good I think as most of these wine aspects seem reasonably gentle, sweet and easy. With water: honeys, soft waxes, lightly peppery, some shoe polish and more notes of apricot jam and impressions of yellow flowers. Finish: medium in length, a little drier, more on cereals, dried flowers, pepper and mineral oil. Comments: probably amongst the better of wine expressions in this series. Feels like a dram of two rather separate halves, but they co-exist in relative harmony so no complaints from me.
SGP: 552 - 86 points.