A tiny private bottling of Springbank for Wolfgang Brewing, drawn from a fresh bourbon cask kept in the distillery's Warehouse 3. Distilled in September 1999 and bottled in March 2008 at eight years old, it gave just 45 bottles at 48.1% ABV.
About This Whisky
The whisky was distilled in September 1999 and filled into a fresh bourbon cask, one used for the first time for Scotch after its bourbon life. It rested in Warehouse 3 in Campbeltown until March 2008, when it was bottled for Wolfgang Brewing at 48.1%. Only 45 bottles were filled, which suggests the owners took part of a cask rather than a full hogshead or barrel. Fresh bourbon wood gives plenty of vanilla and sweetness even at eight years.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Vanilla, fresh cereal and orchard fruit, with sea salt and a faint medicinal smoke.
- Palate: Oily and bright, with salted caramel, lemon, sweet barley and an earthy undertone.
- Finish: Dry and lasting, with brine, pepper and gentle oak smoke.
Serving & Food
Serve at room temperature in a small glass; at 48.1% it is fine neat, and a splash of water brings the vanilla forward. Being a brewer's bottle, it goes well with a glass of stout on the side, or with sausages, rye bread and mustard.
How to Enjoy
Beer and whisky people alike, and fans of young, bourbon-cask Springbank.
Product Details
Distillery: Springbank
Country: Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Bottled For: Wolfgang Brewing
Warehouse: Warehouse 3
Vintage / Bottling: Distilled September 1999, bottled March 2008
Age: 8 years old
Cask: Fresh bourbon cask
Outturn: 45 bottles
ABV: 48.1%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Every Springbank bottle is filled on the distillery site, in a bottling hall set up in an old warehouse that once belonged to the neighbouring Longrow distillery. The team checks each run at several points, and nothing is chill filtered or coloured on the way. 2008, the year this cask was bottled, was also an unusual one at Springbank: rising stocks and costs led the distillery to pause production for about six months while new warehousing was built, with distilling resuming in 2009.