Springbank

SnapShot: Whiskyfabric Whirlwind 1

This series of SnapShot posts derives from whisky exchanges people known as the Whiskyfabric, a term created by Canadian whisky writer Johanne McInnis, otherwise known as the Whisky Lassie, to encompass the online community of whisky writers, creators, reviewers and enthusiasts that exist on social media. And sometimes the connections made online can spill offline. Over the past couple of years, we here at Scotchology have exchanged whiskies via mail with a number of folks across the United States and Canada, and finally decided to sit down to taste the bounty in one fell swoop. Or several swoops, because there was really a lot of whisky! We’ve done a rough grouping and this post contains various non-Islay scotches: Speyside, Highland, Lowland and Campbeltown malts. Islay scotches and other world whiskies get their own posts.

By Adam | February 20, 2019 | Musings | No Comments |

Campbeltown is in some ways a whisky ghost town, once home to over 30 distilleries yet now only three remain, like gunslingers in an old Western. Looked at another way, however, and whisky in Campbeltown is resurgent. The three distilleries remaining are successful and robust, with Springbank leading the pack as one of the most well-regarded in Scotland. Still the only distillery to house the entire process on site, from malting to bottling, they have the capacity and foresight to experiment on the side while still supporting their core range (including the Hazelburn and Longrow lines). This Springbank 12 Year Burgundy has the spirit aged in first fill Burgundy barrels, which means the wine’s influence is stronger. The Longrow Red series typically experiments with wine finishes, so seeing the Springbank spirit treated thus is a welcome treat.

By Adam | February 28, 2018 | Campbeltown | No Comments |

There is no question at this moment that Springbank is king of Campbeltown. Having a number of ranges, the main line of offerings is a little unusual in today’s whisky market in being comprised of only scotches with age statements. This distillery, completely family owned, takes great pride in doing the entire whisky-making process on site, from start to finish. The old ways are the good ways, they believe, and it’s hard to argue with their results. For the past several years, the distillery has also offered a Whisky School, which is probably even more amazing than it sounds. While the Hazelburn line is distilled three times and the Longrow twice, the Springbank 10 is distilled two-and-a-half times, providing a product distinct from either.

By Adam | October 14, 2015 | Campbeltown | No Comments |