Someone should perhaps ring the good Campbeltonians and explain that a vertical tasting consists in expressions from a distillery in increasing (or decreasing) order of age. A tasting of expressions from a distillery that all bear the same age statement is a horizontal. Anyway.
Springbank 12yo b.2014 (46%, OB Green, Bourbon Casks, 9000b, 14/488): nose: here is a strange one! It has pickled onions, onions in the larder, oat flakes and fermented cereals. It turns dry and dusty as old Ovaltine or Horlicks, and moves on to gravy granules. Indeed, it ends up winy and game-y (it is not funny that Gamey is a type of grape, by the way, when a game-y sauce is usually made with wine?), with rusty old coins added for excitement. The second nose seems more austere and the cereals are now grist mixed with crushed glass. For some reason, I do get that feeling with organic whiskies. The type of barley, maybe? Mouth: a schizophrenic, this dram! On one hand, it has a bold cereal sweetness; on the other, it has pickled-onion peel, dusty and bitter. Chewing gives the sweetness the upper hand as it opens a pouch of sweets, both chewy and hard. Crystallised tangerine segments and smoky violets mingle with liquorice and blackcurrant chewies. The second sip allies acidity and bitterness like a lime juice made with unripe limes and their foliage. It has a note of smoky green grapes too. Finish: intense and citrus-y, it diffuses crystallised tangerine segments and crystallised pear slices in a cup of onion relish. We find a soft dry-hay touch via retro-nasal olfaction, and the mouth is left dry as if it had chewed chicory granules, yet the crystallised sweets are a little louder than all the rest. The second gulp is sweeter yet, even if it has a Springbankian minerality too. Crystallised sweets coated in quarry dust so fine it will cause silicosis in a few sips. There is also a minute amount of smoke at every stage. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Springbank 12yo b.2025 (55.5%, OB Cask Strength, Bourbon Casks, B#28, 25/175): nose: wood sticks and logs warned by the fireplace. Suddenly, it takes on crushed citrus foliage, vibrant, green and promising to be bitter. It changes again to give suede, heavy with desert dirt. It is a cowboy's jacket at dusk, as he starts a fire (yes, it is a trifle smoky). If searching for it, one may spot a few drops of Merbromin too, followed by a distant stable in the sun, and finishing with a bed of ashes. The second nose pours chococino on that, augmented with a spray of orange-scented defroster liquid and a carpet tile. Hm. Mouth: gravy granules it is! Keep it on the tongue for a second and the meaty side makes room for a custard-y sweetness closer to Vanydène/Vanilone granules, and lush peaches wrapped in a thin veil of smoke. This one is crisp, minty an lively, yet, under that ardour is a delicious fruitiness. Peaches and poached apples served on a dusty brick, the only sign it may be a little mineral. Thicker at the second sip, sweeter, it has a blend of chocolate milk and orange juice. It works. Finish: warming yet fresh, bitter yet sweet. Could it be a cold mint coffee? Or a citrus-leaves infusion? Cinnamon-coated bay leaves? That could well be it indeed: fresh, bitter and slightly anaesthetising. The second gulp also combines the velvety sweetness of chocolate milk (or chocolate oat milk, you know?) with the fruity acidity of orange juice. It leaves the tongue throbbing, as if numbed by cinnamon powder. Larger gulps lead to smoked-cereal dust at the death. Excellent. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Springbank 12yo b.2021 (55.9%, OB Cask Strength, Bourbon Casks, B#23, 21/133): nose: Horlicks crumbs, which is to say: cereal dust. This one has a blackberry paste in the background, shy, earthy, sweet, raw cinnamon-bun dough and beads of clay. Very far in the back of the sinuses, one can find onion relish, albeit not a particularly-sweet one: it is more earthy and a tad more vinegary than it is sweet. The nose picks up smoke from a pizza oven as one tilts the glass. The second nose has a berry shrub, possibly rosehip, to complement what comes across as lactic and chalky simultaneously. Imagine that! Mouth: a lot sweeter here, it has onion relish, as sweet as they make it, but also blueberry jam and blackcurrant jelly. This one too has a pinch of cinnamon powder, which confers it a numbing quality. Chewing unleashes a torrent of berry jams (blue- and blackberry, blackcurrant) and raisins or dried currants soaked in hot water. Some of those currants are smoked, which gives a slightly-acrid mouthfeel. Incredibly, the second sip has a similar combination as the nose: grated chalk in lukewarm milk. It still has citrus too, cherimoya, calamondin. Finish: Oh! yeah, currants abound, and berries. Dried, stewed, jammed. The cinnamon, also present in the finish, is powerful, likely associated with ginger powder, so fiery it is. It does not go as far as peppermint, though; no scraping the throat. The second gulp injects crushed Aspirin Junior tablets, which is to say: grated chalk with a citrus flavour and, maybe, dried strawberry slices. That and cinnamon powder, which still features prominently. Gone is the cereal dust, on the other hand. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Springbank 12yo b.2024 (57.2%, OB Cask Strength, 70% Bourbon Casks + 30% Sherry Casks, B#25, 24/86): nose: it appears woody, with piles of logs, dusty cigar boxes and varnished walnut shells. The latter properly take off in subsequent sniffs, alongside fruit stones and other shells (hazelnut, almond, pistachio -- unsalted, of course). Follow beach pebbles dried by the sun, and a fistful of warm sand. We swiftly go back to nutshells, however, and add oily-Brazil-nut shells to the lot. The second nose injects red wine into the mix, dark-wood dust and dusty gravy granules. Strange! Mouth: thicker than its predecessors, oilier, it has a faint bitterness too, which is another nutty touch, probably -- oily and bitter, such are nuts. Chewing adds some sweetness to all that, something reminiscent of Boules Magiques... For some reason, strawberry and cinnamon come to mind, yet, it is neither, really. In any case, it is definitely the texture of a Boule Magique, that moment when the hard shell becomes a magma-like paste that fuses with the yoghurt-like core. Almost syrupy at the second sip, it has wine-stained gingerbread, Madeira-infused ganache, Amontillado-cured nut spread and the heat of a lava stone. Finish: phwoar! Hot peach flesh, smashed, sprinkled with cinnamon powder, blended with warm yoghurt and almond milk. It is a fantastically-creamy finish that simply will not end. Peach flesh, hazelnut paste, strawberry yoghurt with a dusting of cinnamon powder. The second gulp presents a combination of hot lava stones and walnut spread with a nip of fortified wine on the side, a wine that becomes muskier with each gulp. This is my favourite, so far. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Springbank 12yo b.2025 (55.9%, OB Cask Strength, 60% Bourbon Casks + 35% Sherry Casks + 5% Rum Casks, B#27, 25/29): nose: a warm metal tray on an equally-warm corduroy sofa. That swiftly recedes, replaced by toasted barley and the boldest smoke we have seen since we started this session. It then rolls out hay, oat flakes, dehydrated potato flakes to make mash, a whisper of earthy paint (Humbrol AA0312) dry-brushed on a model tank, and a nectarine or two, smashed on a tractor tyre. Paint purrs more and more loudly, now closer to midnight blue (Humbrol AA0165), hand in hand with acetone, and there may be lichen involved too. The second nose brings steam from a Moka tin pot and river sand. What a combination! Finally, a faint scent of roasted chestnuts in a brasero -- very faint. Mouth: heady and ester-y, it pushes acetone indeed, white spirit, turpentine... Solvents, in one word. Chewing adds thinned fruit juice (green grape, gooseberry) and an acrid smoke. Said smoke is under control, yet it hits the front of the palate mercilessly. The second sip is sweet, with rock sugar to disperse the solvents. Perhaps it has lukewarm black coffee or chicory infusion, but sugar obstructs all view. Finish: long, chiselled, it hits precise points (which constellation those points delineate is another matter). Barley grains and small stones, crushed glass, subsequently heated, crystal ashtrays in which someone has crushed hay. The second gulp introduces hot brushed steel and a drop of lemon juice in a mug of coffee. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Springbank 12yo b.2024 (56.2%, OB Cask Strength, 60% Bourbon Casks + 35% Sherry Casks + 5% Rum Casks, B#26, 24/199): nose: this is the most abrasive, so far; it strips the nostrils clean! Smoke and musk come first like a fox circling a campfire, but soon, that morphs into cured plums and roasted chestnuts. A glass of nut milk follows and it is unclear which nut (hazelnut, walnut or macadamia, probably). Far in the back is a drop of paint thinner, lost in the middle of a tin of dry silver paint (Revell 32190). Cured orange peels and pineapple bark join, a minute in. The second nose has honey-coated pencil erasers and plasticine rolled in apricot-and-lychee jam. Mouth: a more-syrupy Sherry maturation than the previous ones. We have sultanas, dried dates, prunes, dried apricots. Chewing increases the sweetness and adds dried lychees, dried mango slices and dried pineapple cubes. 'Sweet' and 'chewy' are the key words, here. The second sip is hotter yet, sweet like hot cane-sugar syrup. That comes with a lick of hot brushed steel, shiny and a tad bitter. Dried pineapple rings end up appearing surreptitiously. Finish: the Sherry is beautiful in this one, and it takes control without a doubt. We see the same procession of dried fruits again, sultanas, Medjool dates, raisins and prunes, dried apricots and mango slices. All are wet with a splash of plum liqueur and eaten with a side of honey-glazed green grapes. The second gulp looks at Ireland in the way it handles fruits: it goes from jammy orchard ones and dried tropical ones to fresh tropical; unripe mango and papaya timidly show their colours. The finish is so long and sticky that the patient taster will meet them, though. The death brings a smidge of mint toothpaste, refreshing and cleansing. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Springbank 12yo b.2018 (54.8%, OB Cask Strength, 50% Bourbon Casks + 50% Sherry Casks, B#18, 18/515): nose: custard, pineapple purée mixed with flan. It becomes narrow, blade-sharp, with white grapefruit and oroblanco, yet also the sweeter calamansi. In fact, resolutely fruity, it alternates between acidity and sweetness. Soon, a salty touch appears; fleeting at first, it takes over as if it presented the afore-mentioned citrus in a preserved format, briny and salty. It is tempting to detect a thin smoke, but I am not sure it really is there. It may be iodine and citrus only. That said, it has a growing earthy signature, farm paths, field earth, maybe even a farmyard, with its puddles of manure. The second nose has tree-bark shavings covered in lichen and mouldy lemons. That quickly dissipates to let our citrus shine brighter, still accompanied by a fistful of moist clay. Mouth: pineapple chunks doused in Iso Betadine. It also has peach nectar, thick, juicy and elevated by a dash of oroblanco juice. Chewing unlocks a strong sweetness of light-brown sugar. It tickles the gums like red chilli flakes, which is as amusing as it is fitting, and it too has a refreshing touch -- though it points at mouthwash more than toothpaste, this one. The second sip is softer, sweeter, offering natural fruit sugars, not the processed stuff one buys from the supermarket. The citrus here are kumquat, tangerine and calamansi, perhaps Buddha's hand in brine. It takes on a chalky texture, in the long rum (pun intended -- that is a frequent note for rum-cask-aged whiskies... which this is not!) Finish: with the perfect kick, it combines a minty-mouthwash freshness, a puff of light smoke, a pinch of salt, iodine and a collection of citrus fruits, fresh, preserved or juiced. Grilled grapefruit, juiced oroblanco, pressed pomelo and lemon, smoked lime, baked citron. It leaves an impression of having licked burnt hazelwood, yet that is far from the alpha note. The second gulp prolongs the mouthwash feel -- a citrus-y one! It also pushes plenty of pineapple and rehydrated dried papaya cubes seasoned with salt. We have a winner. 9/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Springbank 12yo b.2021 (55.4%, OB Cask Strength, 50% Bourbon Casks + 50% Sherry Casks, B#22, 21/62): nose: musky and animal, this takes us to meet foxes, wild boars, red deer and wild cats. Behind that procession of mammals, it serves cured game meat: venison or pigeon in a wine sauce. Deeper sniffing shows rancio and mushrooms growing in pots in a limestone-walled cellar. In fact, it is increasingly mineral and starts smelling like a cave, albeit a warm one, stalactites and all. That should spell(eology -- ha! ha!) mud as much as it does limestone, and, indeed, we end up with piles of the stuff, then wet oil paint. Tilting the glass triggers a bold slap of fruits, pineapple slices, blush oranges, tangerine segments, and ink. The second nose introduces stewed citrus, skins and all, which is closer to a wild animal's scent than one would instinctively think. Finally, it peddles the smell of a hot dusty radiator. Mouth: another fruity number on the tongue, it may have a dash of heady red wine, but it is blush orange that occupies the dancefloor. It has sweet mint crumbles too, which provide sweetness and freshness, yet that will not overshadow the citrus. Kumquats join oranges, tangelos and satsumas. Chewing adds a modest bitterness, as if, in the midst of that excitement, some of those citrus fruits had brought a few leaves with them. It stays a juicy party, though. The second sip is sweeter, with sugar-cane juice and pineapple chunks in syrup. Chewing reveals the heat of it, which cauterises the mouth before pouring sugar-cane juice and pineapple juice on the scalded mouth tissues. Finish: despite a general mellow tone, it does not lack in the kicking department. Those fruits have life in them yet! What strikes, once the alcohol bite has calmed down, is the lingering bitterness: oil from the citrus peels, without a doubt. It also leaves a chalky impression, as if the fruits had been covered in talcum powder. Finally, those two points (bitter and chalky) combine and result in crushed Aspirin tablet. It is not as bitter as in a Littlemill, but it is there. The second gulp does away with the bitterness altogether and makes this a lovely fruity dram, with satsumas, golden kiwis, kumquats and a drop of blush-orange juice. Excellent and better with each sip. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
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| That's a wrap! |
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