Springbank 15-year-old single malt whisky, 80% is aged in Ex-Olorosso Sherry Cask and 20% is aged in bourbon casks. It has a strong sherry character and spice, dried fruit and nuts.
Flavor: Pineapple, malt and floral aromas appear at first, gradually brown sugar, chocolate, cake, almonds, toffee and oak appear.
Taste: Fresh, sweet, creamy, raisins, dark chocolate, figs, almond cakes, Brazil nuts and vanilla.
Finish: The aroma of oak and sherry continues and blends with the scent of leather.
Springbank is located in the Campbeltown region of Scotland, UK. It is one of the oldest wineries in Scotland and one of only three wineries in Campbeltown today.
In the 1660s, the Mitchell Family moved to Campbeltown and started operating a whisky distillery. In 1828, the Reid Brothers, who were related to Archibald Mitchell by marriage, established the Springbank Whisky Distillery on the site of Archibald Mitchell's unlicensed distillery. This was the fourteenth licensed distillery in the Campbeltown area. In 1837, due to financial problems, the Reid Brothers sold the distillery to Archibald Mitchell's sons, John Mitchell and William Mitchell. In 1872, the two brothers went their separate ways, with William Mitchell continuing the family whisky distilling tradition and founding the Glengyle Distillery, while John Mitchell, with the assistance of his son, established J. & A. Mitchell and Company, Ltd. in 1897 to operate Springbank. In the 1920s, the quality of Campbeltown whisky declined, and the local whisky industry entered a downturn. Many distilleries closed down, but Springbank survived. However, due to the implementation of Prohibition, Springbank was forced to close in 1926. Fortunately, with the repeal of Prohibition, Springbank resumed business in 1933. In the 1980s, the whisky industry fell into a downturn again, and Springbank was forced to close again, and could only sell some of the whisky in stock. After nearly a decade of closure, Springbank reopened and began to produce whisky in small batches. It was at this time that Springbank Distillery Company Limited was established. The company has been run by the Mitchell family from its inception to the present day and is the oldest family-run distillery in Scotland.
From the germination of barley to the final bottling, every step of Springbank's whisky brewing is carried out in Campbeltown and is personally supervised by a professional team led by the distillery manager to ensure the historical flavor and excellent quality of Springbank whisky. The distillery is well-equipped and can be completely self-sufficient in the brewing process. Springbank adopts the traditional budding method, first soaking the barley in clean cold water for three days to make it swell, and then spreading the swollen barley on the floor and turning it regularly by hand. After the barley germinates, the workers will put it in the cellar and bake it for 30 to 48 hours using peat as fuel. The dried malt is then ground in mills that have been used since the 1940s. In order to extract the sugar in the grain, the ground malt is put into a mash pot filled with hot water, which is called mash making. In this process, workers will stir it three times. The malt juice obtained from mash making will be fermented in a large wooden fermentation barrel for up to 110 hours, and then distilled in three different copper distiller, namely the initial distiller (Wash Still), the low wine distiller (Low Wines Still) and the re-distiller (Spirit Still). The distilled spirits will go into the distillation tanks, and this process will be supervised by the boilerman. After that, these spirits need to be aged in wooden barrels for at least three years. In order to brew high-quality whiskey with a unique flavor, the brewery combines the unique peninsular climate of Campbeltown and carefully selects suitable wooden barrels. At the same time, the aging of wooden barrels will give the whiskey a certain color. In order to maintain its natural characteristics, Springbank Whiskey refuses to add pigments to change its color.
