Etikettarkiv: Campbeltown whisky review

Campbeltown, Glen Scotia

Glen Scotia Exclusive Cask 2012 – Ruby Port Cask Finish

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ABV: 55.3 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is spicy and sweet. At first there’s a sweet vanilla with a peppery layer on top. It’s immidiately woody with oak tannins punching through. When it settles in the glass a layer of sticky sweet red berries and a hint of sweet pipe tobacco gets spread on top of the vanilla. It then sort of reach stasis and stays layered with pepper, oak, sticky fruits and sweet vanilla. It takes a good twenty minutes in the glass before the layers start to merge together. This is a nice enough nose, but it doesn’t feel especially balanced and/or logical.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet and sour fruitiness on the edges of the palate incapsulating a sweet vanilla and honey center. It’s slightly bitter and still has a very peppery character. The oakiness is not as aggressive as on the nose. There’s a maltiness coming through, as well as liquorice and some assorted nuts in the back part of the core. It feels a bit hot and it’s not the best mouthfeel in the world.

Finish: The finish starts out with the sticky sweet fruits on top while the bitterness creates a backplate which everything rests on. The fruits now have a slightly darker character. It still has a lot of oak tannins but they are subdued by the pepper spicyness and some blueberry and lemon fruitiness floating around on top. This is a contrast to the darker notes within. It feels quite dry and it’s not as sweet as earlier in the journey. When the oak takes over it becomes slightly astringent and the oakiness comes through as a mix of fresh oak and old dusty grey oak planks. This is a good and competent whisky but it’s a really weird one.

Additional information
This whisky was bottled exclusively for the Swedish market. It’s was distilled in 2012 and bottled in 2021. It was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in a ex-ruby port pipe. 300 bottles were released. The cask number is 19/660-7. It’s unchillfiltered.

Campbeltown, Longrow, Springbank

Longrow 11 YO Rundlets & Kilderkins

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ABV: 51.7 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a peaty cloud sitting on top of a sweet center with vanilla, oak and honey. It feels herbal and slightly medicinal on top but underneath the sweetness lies a complex gritty base with dirty oil and rubber notes. With time in the glass it becomes a lot sweeter and the peaty cloud moves out towards the edges and becomes more ashy than before. There’s a fruitiness hidden within which leans towards sweet and ripe red apples. It feels younger than the age statement at first aquaintance. This is a very nice nose with a lot to offer for the whisky explorer.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet and bitter mix that consists of a dusty oak note up front and a fruity and sweet core. There’s a pretty strong coconut note and burnt caramel coming through in the middle as well. The peat is a bit subdued off the starting grid and it takes a while for it to shine. The red apples are joined by a mild lemon peel note and the peat moves together with that note up along the edges. The gritty core stays in the back and the peat notes are now more like leather and tobacco. The dusty oak is very prominent throughout.

Finish: The dusty oak, with a mix of vanilla and bitter lemon peel, stays strong through the transition. The finish starts out slightly fruitier than before with red apples dipped in caramel but it’s all about the oakiness from here. The peatiness becomes less important quite soon and resides in the background along with the gritty notes. It’s still a complex dram but it gets rather uninteresting in the late finish due to the bitter and quite protruding oakiness from the small casks. This is a very good whisky overall but it doesn’t go all the distance. It’s complex and well made but it tips over and becomes slightly unbalanced in the late finish.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 2001 and bottled in 2013. 9000 bottles were released. It was aged in rundlets and kilderkins. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Campbeltown, Private Cask, Springbank

Springbank 19 YO – Lyrik (Fresh Sherry Hogshead)

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ABV: 47.5 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is cooling mint and dark fruitiness. The first thing to come through is an extremely dark layer of sherry with a minty overtone. It’s a big chunk of black liquorice and raisins with surrounding notes of fresh oranges and a hint of lemon. In the dead center the oily/rubbery Springbank signature shines through. It gets fruitier and fresher with time in the glass. The darker notes sort of slip to the sides to make room for the rest. There’s also a clear trace of the oakiness in the background. This is a nice, complex nose.

Mouth: At first there’s a hefty dark fruitiness coming through, but the oranges is soon pushing the black liquorice and the raisins to the sides. The oily rubbery note is still sitting in the center and the age is now present as a dusty, old leather chair. It takes a few seconds for the peat to show up but when it arrives, it lands on the egdes with the dark sherry notes. The oakiness is still in the back and it feels fresh but there is a tiny speck of dust on it. With time the lemon note increases in intensity.

Finish: It starts out quite hot and it takes a while for the other flavours to come through. First to come through are the oranges and after those the black liquorice and raisins notes arrive. They are not as pronounced as before though. The peat is taking a step forward as well as the oakiness. The old leather chair comes back in the late finish together with the lemon. There’s also a hint of tobacco leaves. A tiny espresso note creates a bitter tang in the end. This is a great sherry bomb through and through.

Additional information
This is a bottling of Springbank drawn from a private fresh sherry hogshead from 2001. This was bottled in 2020.

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Campbeltown, Private Cask, Springbank

Springbank 12 YO – Poesi (Fresh Sherry Hogshead)

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ABV: 51.4 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is deep, dark overripe fruits. The thick sherry layer is covering everything at first. It’s overripe plums, black liquorice and liqeuer-soaked raisins. There’s an overlay of menthol which gives a balance to the darkness. After a while it becomes possible to break through to the other flavours that’s been hiding in the back. A nice fresh citrus fruitiness peeks through together with a note of rubber and oil. This is a powerful but slightly unbalanced nose.

Mouth: It’s starts out sweet with a powerful spicyness and a sour note in the back. A coconut note flashes by before it’s back to the dark fruits and black liquorice, with the fresh fruits breaking through slightly. There’s a bitter espresso note in the background. A small layer of vanilla and a dust spread out over the palate. The oily rubbery note is still in there and the peatiness is now slightly detectable on the outside layer, but still struggling to break through the dark fruitiness.

Finish: The menthol note spreads out and soon leave room for a hefty bitterness tied to the darker notes. The overripe plums and liqeuer-soaked raisins move towards the edges and leaves the center for a lemon note and an oakiness with espresso and just a hint of hazelnuts. The coconut note returns for a second or two before the peat finally shows up in the late finish. The peat and the rubbery note stays for a very long and rewarding finish. This is an over the top sherry bomb with a complex heart. It feels a little hot and unbalanced, but it still is a great dram overall.

Additional information
This is a bottling of Springbank drawn from a private fresh sherry hogshead from 2001. This was bottled in 2013.

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Campbeltown, Springbank

Springbank 11 YO – Local Barley 2nd Edition

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ABV: 53,1 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and complex. It’s vanilla heavy with honey and some ripe red apples in the back. The signature Springbank rubbery note is clearly sitting in the dead center of everything. Sweet liquorice comes through as the cask influence becomes more dense. There’s a touch of dry soil and just a tiny hint of peat. It’s milder than the ABV suggest.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and spicy. The rubbery note comes through together with a heavy dustiness and the vanilla and honey sweetness. The liquorice becomes really pronounced with time in the glass. After a second or two it turns to the bitter side, but the oak never really pushes through. Green apples and green grapes sits in the back and the peat is still in there, but very subtle.

Finish: A burst of ABV spicyness goes by before it returns to sweet honey and sweet liquorice. The rubber note is now toned down a bit. There’s a lemon note in the back. Then the oak starts to roll in and it’s a very nice, fresh oakiness with just a hint of bitterness. The peat peeks through in the late finish. This is a great dram overall, but not the best Springbank has to offer.

Additional information
This is the 2nd release in a 5 part series. The first release was a 16 YO. This whisky is distilled 2.5 times and it’s aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels.

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Campbeltown, Independent bottlers, Springbank

Svenska Eldvatten Springbank 1995 – 22 YO Refill Sherry Hogshead

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ABV: 44,3 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded.

Additional information
This is a single cask (#498) release from a swedish independent bottler. It’s a bottling from a european ex-sherry hogshead cask.137 bottles were filled from the cask.

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