Single Malts of Scotland Springbank 1999

A quick post today about a new bottling that we’ve just got in from our sister company, Speciality Drinks Ltd, as part of the Single Malts of Scotland range – an 11 year old Springbank.

It was matured in a sherry cask, after being distilled in 1999 and bottled at the end of 2010. It’s a deep woody red, coming in at a shade darker than our recent sold out Port Ellen Royal Wedding bottling, and it’s a big and smoky beast of a Springbank.

Single Malts of Scotland Springbank 1999

We had a bottle of this on the side, so Tim and I dug in for a quick taste.

Billy:

Colour: Dark copper

Nose: Lively, with some glue, raisins, warm leather, ‘proper’ sticky cocktail cherries and a layer of woody smoke underneath it all, as a warm and meaty base.

Palate: Big, rich and spicy up front, with cigar tobacco and cedar boxes, cinnamon, clove and aniseed. It has a chunk of fruit in the middle that quickly dries out and becomes slightly tannic, with a hint of red grape skin and sour cherry jam.

Finish: Lingering dry wood and smoke, stewed cherries and eccles cake raisins. It all turns meaty as it fades, with roast beef crispy bits popping up.

Comment: A smoky, sherried beast of a whisky. One for the sherry-heads. Like me.

Tim:

Nose: Wonderful classical old-style sherry aromas – didn’t know you could still get casks like this! Gamey and rich, with woodglue and heavy sweet stewed fruit. Impressively pruney for a whisky of this comparative youth. Also quite oaky (in a good way), with treacle toffee, blackberries and autumn leaves. Delightful.

Palate: Full-bodied – big waves of very assertive, oaky mocha and bitter chocolate, then some damson jam, followed by a massive surge of sweet sherry oakiness. Serious depth, but you have to like sherried whisky, as this is pretty extreme.

Finish: Drying and still quite oaky with fading dark fruit and spice.

Comment: A monster – and at such a young age! Almost overpoweringly sherried, but a lot of fun.

There aren’t all that many bottles of it, with a total release of 83, and we expect it to disappear quite quickly, so get in now before it’s gone…

The Springbank 1999 is up on the TWE website now.