There’s a chill within the air…
As I write this, temperatures in my space have abruptly fallen from their summer season heights to ranges which are decidedly extra autumn-like. I’ve spent the morning reorganizing my closet, packing away bathing fits and flip-flops and changing them with corduroy trousers and boots. However what of the whisky cabinet?
I’ve observed a powerful seasonal sample to my whisky consumption. Whereas I usually get pleasure from bourbon and rye whiskey year-round (both neat or in blended drinks), I reserve malt whisky – and particularly peated Scotch – for the colder fall and winter months.
There’s no good motive for this; I’ve written earlier than concerning the delights of Islay whisky as the bottom for a refreshing highball cocktail. As for neat whisky: that Glengoyne Cask Energy tasted simply high quality after I opened it in June. Nonetheless, I can’t resist the psychological pull of heartier kinds of Scotch as soon as the leaves begin to fall.
I’ll be delving into simply such an instance of Scotch whisky right now. If you happen to’re questioning why the primary a part of this overview has all of the thrust of a meandering woodland stroll throughout a cold October day, it’s as a result of I’m reviewing a whisky from a distillery about which, I worry, there may be nothing extra to say. If you happen to guessed Springbank, you guessed appropriately.
A perusal of this web site gives a timeline of the evolution of opinions on Springbank. A number of years again, Adam had tweeted that Springbank was boring to jot down about as a result of it was universally beloved. Markets moved in response; bottles of even the core expressions disappeared from cabinets close to me. In a little bit of meta-complaining, Dora bemoaned the moaning concerning the lack of availability of restricted launch. You realize a distillery has reached a rarified stage of prominence when persons are carping about all of the carping about it!
My final dalliance with Springbank – the formally bottled 17 yr Madeira Wooden – gently poked enjoyable at how uninteresting the discourse about former costs and availability had develop into. Most not too long ago, Graham chastised Springbank for lending their imprimatur to a price range mix in a method that appeared prone to sow confusion.
And but, Springbank nonetheless captivates. Look no additional than Graham’s detailed meditation on the distillery’s historical past and taste creation. Each time we really feel wearied on the back-and-forth, annoyed by the countless (typically fruitless) bottle chase, . Like Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in his later years: simply whenever you suppose you’re out, Springbank pulls you again in.
I’m hoping that’s what I’ve in retailer for me right now. I’m clutching one other pattern beating the unmistakable calligraphic tag of Ryan, who stays a much-appreciated benefactor. It is a “cage” bottling of the sort for which Mark supplied a splendid introduction again in 2018. I’m much more psyched that it is a “recent bourbon barrel,” per the data Ryan supplied. If in case you have been following the Scotch whisky zeitgeist, you’ll know that the cognoscenti now favor bourbon barrels for analysis of a distillery’s pure DNA, with out the heavy overlay of notes from a sherry cask.
This involves us at 53.8%. I’m utilizing £200 as a reference worth for our Scoring Bands, which is a “finger within the air” estimate of about what I’d anticipate to pay for a 17 yr outdated Springbank if I discovered it on the shelf of an sincere retailer, and in addition what bottles like this one are going for at public sale.
Springbank 17 12 months Outdated 2002 Contemporary Bourbon Barrel – Evaluation
Coloration: Medium pale yellow.
On the nostril: The primary whiff of it is a delight; it’s a seamless fusion of barrel and barley in a method that accentuates and improves each. A contact of creamy oak is accented by maritime nuances of saline and iodine, in a really pure kind. This transforms right into a spherical and plushly wealthy fruitiness; image a Bartlett pear in the intervening time of optimum ripeness, each juicy and crisp concurrently. As earlier than this isn’t and not using a darker shade, at this level the unmistakable scent of petrichor, although deftly and gently expressed, and leavened by a countervailing observe of spring flowers.
Within the mouth: That is absolutely resolved from the second it touches the tongue. There’s an instantaneous bloom of reasonable peat that turns and rolls over into the aforementioned creamy oak, in mirror-image inversion of the presentation of those parts on the nostril. This rises up the tongue with an more and more woody mouthfeel, taking up extra piquant spiciness and a few tannic texture, however by no means in a method that crosses the road into bitter or bitter territory. Slightly, the crescendo is of vanilla crème with a nip of cinnamon, in addition to some jasmine and lemongrass parts added for intrigue. The end is interminable; a minute or extra after the ultimate sip, I’m nonetheless tasting sporadic bursts of lemon juice, extra creamy oak, and smoky salinity.
Conclusions:
I can’t recall the final time I had a whisky this entire, from entrance to again. This whisky is aware of what it’s and presents itself in unabashed trend. That’s to not say that it’s one-note or simplistic; quite the opposite, that preliminary barley and barrel dichotomy is however a binary star round which a whole photo voltaic system of various and fascinating aromas and flavors orbit. It’s an ideal autumn dram and almost an ideal dram in whole. In recognition of this truth, I’m giving it a rarely-awarded rating.
Rating: 9/10
If you happen to ever want a reminder of what all of the Springbank fuss is about, it is best to attempt to discover this bottle, or one prefer it. At its greatest, Springbank is able to delivering whisky that teaches us what whisky may be. The power to take action comparatively unadorned, via the affect of the common-or-garden bourbon barrel, is – to me – what separates the nice distilleries from the merely good or superb ones. On the power of this instance, Springbank is a distillery virtually the ultimate. If you’ll be able to put aside preconceptions, to put aside public sale outcomes, to put aside scorching takes and hipsterdom, you would possibly end up amazed.
Picture courtesy of Ryan.
