The 2020 edition of Springbank Local Barley, a 10-year-old made from Belgravia barley grown at Glencraigs Farm, about 2.5 miles from the distillery. It was matured entirely in oloroso sherry casks and bottled at cask strength, 55.6% ABV.
About This Whisky
Local Barley is an annual release made from barley grown in or around Campbeltown. Each year a local farmer is commissioned to grow the crop, which is then floor-malted at the distillery. For this release the variety was Belgravia from Glencraigs Farm, on the A83 between the town and Kintyre's west coast. It was distilled in June 2010, filled into oloroso sherry casks only, and bottled on 3 December 2020. The outturn was 8,500 bottles, with no chill filtration and no added colour.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Raisins, prunes and dates, dark honey and cigar leaf, with damp earth, sweet cherry and a background of rich malt.
- Palate: Oily and full, with dried fruit, dark chocolate and orange, then walnut, a mineral streak and black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Finish: Long and spicy, with cocoa, a touch of mint and steady malt underneath.
Serving & Food
At cask strength, start with a small pour in a copita at room temperature, taste it straight, then add a little still water. Roast duck with plum sauce, a hard sheep's cheese such as Manchego, or dark chocolate with sea salt all suit the sherry weight.
How to Enjoy
Lovers of sherried Springbank at full strength, and anyone following the Local Barley series year by year.
Product Details
Distillery: Springbank
Country: Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Category: Single malt Scotch whisky
Series: Local Barley (2020 edition)
Barley: Belgravia, Glencraigs Farm, Kintyre
Distilled / Bottled: June 2010 / 3 December 2020
Age: 10 years old
Cask: Oloroso sherry casks
Outturn: 8,500 bottles
ABV: 55.6%
Proof: 111.2
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Whisky in Campbeltown goes back a long way. The first written mention dates from 1591, and through the 1600s and 1700s the town was a busy centre for illicit stills. By 1814 there were 22 legal distilleries around the town. Archibald Mitchell had worked one of those illicit stills, and in 1828 he licensed the site as Springbank, the fourteenth licensed distillery in Campbeltown. Nearly two centuries later the distillery still stands on that same ground, run by the company his family founded.