Springbank distilled in 1966, matured for 31 years in a single ex-bourbon cask and bottled in 1997 at natural cask strength. Several 1966 Springbank bourbon casks were issued in the Local Barley series. This bottle's label is bin-soiled from cellar storage.
About This Whisky
Springbank released its 1966 vintage in two waves. Three sherry casks came out in 1990, and from October 1996 a run of bourbon casks followed, bottled a few at a time until the last 1966 appeared in February 2000. Other 1997 bourbon-cask bottlings vary in strength and cask number; those figures should not be assigned to this bottle. The name reflects the barley, grown on farms around Campbeltown. Expect a broad spread of fruit, tobacco, leather and oak, with threads of salt and smoke.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Orange, plum and kumquat, then tobacco, leather and polished oak, with a saline note.
- Palate: Oily and expansive: lime zest, stone fruit, milk chocolate and pepper, with a little toffee.
- Finish: Extended and layered, with oak, salt and a wisp of smoke.
Serving & Food
Pour a small measure, cover the glass for a few minutes and taste it neat before thinking about water. Given its age, it is best shared slowly among people who will talk about it.
How to Enjoy
A milestone bottle for serious Springbank collectors, or a 1966 anniversary.
Product Details
Distillery: Springbank, Campbeltown
Country: Scotland
Vintage: 1966
Age: 31 years
Bottled: 1997
Casks: Single ex-bourbon cask
Condition: Bin-soiled label
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Springbank handles every stage on one site, from malting its barley on its own floors to bottling. Several Scottish distilleries malt a share of their barley; Springbank malts all of it.
After kilning, the malt is mashed in a cast-iron, open-topped mash tun and fermented for 72 to 110 hours in six washbacks made of boatskin larch. That long fermentation builds the fruity esters that sit under Springbank's oil and salt.