For most whisky drinkers – dare I say, enthusiasts – distilleries fall into one of three categories: There is the “well known” category, where names like Glenmorangie, Lagavulin, Macallan, Glenfarclas, Talisker, etc all reside. Their whiskies are widely available; the brands are well known; they have visitor centres; and chances are, you may already have set foot in their stillhouse.
At the other end of the scale, you have the “unknown” category. These are the distilleries that don’t have any official releases; the ones that don’t have visitor centres and are closed to the public. Their spirit goes straight into the blends and you’ll struggle to find any detailed information about them. Most readers may not even have heard of them! I refer to the likes of Allt-a’Bhainne, Miltonduff, Inchgower, and so on.
The third category is the more interesting one, and I’ll tag it with the label “enigmatic”. And surely, there is no more enigmatic distillery than Springbank. Independent, family owned, a Campbeltown distillery no less, its whiskies are harder to come by; the releases are few and far between; and yet – and it’s a big yet – hardcore whisky lovers adore it. Fans speak of Springbank with a reverence and dedication reserved for very few distilleries, and for those who’ve not discovered the distillery or been enchanted by its spirit, it’s all a bit of a mystery.
For many years, Springbank was the last and only contact most people had with the Campbeltown region. Together with Glen Scotia, it is the last survivor of Campbeltown’s demise, although even Glen Scotia was on life-support there for a while. More recently, J&A Mitchell revived the Glengyle distillery, thus returning a third distillery to the region.
Springbank was founded in 1828 by Archibald Mitchell at a time when distilling in Campbeltown was already proving to be a profitable venture. By the late 19th century, roughly 30 distilleries were operating in this one little town. With a population of less than 2,000 people, it was said to be the richest town in Britain per capita. However, without wanting to write too long an essay about the reasons for Campbeltown’s decline, by 1934, there were just the two aforementioned distilleries left operating. For the purposes of this little piece, we can put Campbeltown’s misfortune down to a few key triggers:
- Strong competition amongst the distillers caused many to cut corners, resulting in a drop in quality and the region quickly developed a poor reputation in the eyes of the blenders. The orders stopped coming in.
- World War I
- Prohibition in the USA.
And so it was that Springbank & Glen Scotia ploughed on for 70 years, keeping Campeltown’s distilling fortunes alive with a beating pulse. And, even then, both distilleries needed to be resuscitated at times along the way.
As such, Springbank’s production has been sporadic over the years, with long periods in mothballs or simply lying low whilst waiting for more favourable financial conditions. Even now, with production levels back and regular again, distilling at Springbank is a part-time affair, since the distillery staff work Springbank for half the year, then head up the road to Glengyle and work that distillery for the other half. It is for these reasons that aged stocks are scarce. The 1980’s were particularly unkind, although that stint was tough on all distilleries. Even more recently in 2008, when production levels throughout the industry started to increase dramatically, Springbank went against the flow and took the decision to stop production, as the cost of barley hit record highs. At the time of my last visit in 2009, the team were producing around 160,000 litres per annum at Springbank, and 50,000-60,000 litres at Glengyle. Compare these outputs to what “the big boys” produce each year, and you’ll suddenly appreciate why there’s not much Springbank around.
Whilst distilleries have been around for – in some cases – centuries, the reputations that many distilleries enjoy today were forged in the 1990’s when the boom in single malts took its footholds. (Michael Jackson’s Malt Whisky Companion went a long way to cementing, if not actually creating, these reputations). And this is when Springbank really established its current credentials. The 1990’s saw some incredible Springbank releases, including many distillates from the 1960’s. The famous so-called “Local Barley” releases stem from this era, and remain amongst some of the finest whiskies ever produced. Similarly, their 21yo released in the late 1990’s was surely one of the best 21yo regularly available releases of any distillery anywhere. And let us not forget the amazing Millennium Range of Springbanks – six incredible whiskies released six months apart (starting in 1998) in time for the millennium at 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50yo. I’ve been fortunate enough to try all of the above whiskies, and the 30yo Millennium bottling remains as one of the finest sherry-cask matured whiskies I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy.
It is these whiskies and others (particularly the old 15yo) that fostered the love and affection many now feel for the distillery. But like most other distilleries, you can’t rest on your laurels. Gone are the days when a distillery’s portfolio consisted solely of a 12yo, 18yo, and 25yo. Springbank has been as busy as anyone with new releases and exotic expressions. Their special finish releases (such as the Gaja Barolo), or the special cask releases explore new territory and flavours. Not to mention the likes of Rundlets and Kilderkins. And members of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society have been treated to some very special casks – two recent bottlings that were matured in red wine barriques were spectacular whiskies that combined spice, brine, malt, and peat. So it’s no surprise that Springbank has its fans. And we haven’t even addressed yet Springbank’s tantalising use of peat, or the fact that it produces both heavily peated and non-peated variants!
So what about the actual production? Let’s start to unwrap the enigma: Springbank remains the only Scottish distillery that can boast to having every stage of production take place on site. The locally grown barley is malted in the traditional manner on the maltings floors (there are two floors taking 12T and 10T respectively); and the spirit is bottled in the distillery’s own bottling hall. Production is very traditional in one sense (old equipment and old methods), yet very radical in another. The distillation process and the mixing of the feints, foreshots, and middle cut is such that Springbank can claim their spirit is distilled 2.8 times! There is one wash still (traditionally fired, with a rummager and featuring a wormtub condensor), whilst the two spirit stills are steam-heated and have shell and tube condensors.
And it is in its production that you start to get an insight into why this distillery is enigmatic and different from the rest of the pack. Firstly, there is the distillery’s independence – it’s still in the hands of Archibald Mitchell’s descendants, and they march to the beat of their own drum. They choose to produce all their own malt on site – a process that costs them £600 per tonne when they could buy it commercially for just £250. You need a hardy strain of barley to survive on the west coast, and their choice of barley is Hart & Bere. Their yield might be as high as 370 litres of spirit per tonne (as little as 340 litres for the locally grown barley), when most other distilleries are pushing for 410-415 litres. And whilst the accountants might argue with the efficiency and economics of the figures, our tastebuds should be forever thankful that the distillery is chasing quality and not quantity.
Regular Springbank is peated to around 14ppm, giving it a soft smokiness that combines beautifully with the maritime characteristics so prevalent in good Campbeltown whiskies. (Talisker is another example of a distillery that pulls this off well). The barley is dried over a peat fire for six hours before hot air takes over for a further 30 hours. (When peating the barley for the distillery’s Longrow whisky, the barley is subjected to a peat fire for up to 48 hours!)
As the preceding paragraph hinted at, Springbank make more than one style of whisky. Ever since 1973, Springbank have been making a heavily peated, Islay-style of whisky, released under the name Longrow. Peated to around 40ppm phenols, it is a beast to be reckoned with. Since 1997, an entirely unpeated variant has been made, released under the name Hazelburn. Both are named after long-deceased Campbeltown distilleries.
Here in Australia, Springbank’s interests are taken care of by Premium Scotch Imports – headed up by the inimitable Shane Kalloglian. Older readers may remember the old television advertisements in the 1980’s for Remington shavers and the guy who “liked the product so much, I bought the company”. Shane’s affinity for Springbank is similar, and he liked the distillery so much, he took on the distribution. And this is something Aussie drinkers should be grateful for – the team importing Springbank into Australia is driven by a love of the distillery, the brand, and its reputation, rather than it just being another line item in their portfolio.
And so, with the distillery now fully explored, let’s look at two new Springbank releases that recently hit the Australian market:
Springbank Green 12yo, 46%
This is a whisky made from organic barley, hence the “green” in the name. It has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels and bottled unchillfiltered at 46% ABV:
Nose: Instant hit of brine. Salty seaweed washed up on the sand and rockpools at the beach in the sun. Under the brine sits a heavy bed of sweet malt that is beautifully fused with light citrus. With time, lemon meringue pie emerges, together with sweet pawpaw. Only after a few minutes does the soft smokiness start to emerge.
Palate: Deliciously sweet, syrupy malt coats the tongue, leaving the most divine hints of peat, salt, and spice in its wake. There is dark chocolate and licorice (bullets!), flat cola, and subtle spices.
Finish: Milk chocolate. Slightly tarry. Wonderful mix of dry and sweet.
Comments: Well, I’ll come right out and say it: This is seriously sensational! It exhibits an intriguing mix of conflicting contrasts: Sweet and dry; citrusy and salty, peaty and fruity. Unbelievably complex. So many people get caught up pursuing older expressions, and yet here is proof that a humble 12yo can be one of the best drams going around. A near-perfect dram that will suit any time, any occasion.
Springbank 25yo, 46%
From a combination of both bourbon and sherry casks, the final vatting was then married in ex-port pipes before being bottled at 46% ABV.
Nose: Not a long way removed from the nose of the 12yo described above, but there is now the unmistakable contribution of sherry and oak. Hints of old gold chocolate, toffee, instant coffee granules, bonox and roast beef. Incredibly tantalising and appealing.
Palate: Warm and embracing. The oak is evident without remotely dominating or overwhelming – it simply nuzzles in against the sweet malt and peat, and fills the perfect space. There are soft notes of tropical fruits (again, not unlike the 12yo), but the richness of oloroso – which is very subtle, I hasten to add – adds that extra dimension.
Finish: Sublime. Not a note out of order; it’s long, continuous, satisfying, and not a hint of bitterness to be found.
Comments: Plenty of 25yo releases out there give the bottler the opportunity to blend and hide some inferior casks, or casks that were simply past their prime. You don’t suspect this for one moment with the Springbank 25 – it’s as if every cask was clean and at its peak when it was tipped for this bottling run. It’s delicious, complex, and fulfilling drinking. It’s also the perfect 25yo – not so old that it falls into the aged and woody category, but certainly with enough runs on the board to offer the extra depth and dimension that you won’t find in whiskies in their teens.
If you’ve not explored Springbank or tried their whiskies previously, hopefully the above goes someway to unwrapping the enigma. And if you’re on the lookout for two new whiskies that will knock your socks off, grab the new Springbank Green while you can! The above two whiskies are available from The Odd Whisky Company at www.theoddwhiskycoy.com.au at the sensational prices of $135 and $749 respectively. I’ve already placed my orders!
Big thanks to Premium Scotch Imports for the two whiskies to try. Images of the 12yo and 25yo above from Springbank. Distillery photographs above by and © yours truly.
Cheers,
AD
