Springbank 9 Year Old Local Barley was the fourth of five annual Local Barley releases, made from Optic barley grown at High Cattadale Farm on the Kintyre peninsula. Distilled in July 2009 and bottled in October 2018, it came out at cask strength, 57.7% ABV, with 9,700 bottles.
About This Whisky
The barley for this release was Optic, grown at High Cattadale Farm, fewer than ten miles from the distillery. It was distilled in July 2009 and matured in a mix of 80% bourbon casks and 20% sherry casks before bottling in October 2018. The bourbon-led recipe keeps the barley and the salty house character in view, with the sherry adding some dried fruit at the end. It was bottled at 57.7% without chill filtration or added colour.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Salty and coastal, with sea shells and fresh oysters, then pepper-jack cheese, honeycomb and vanilla pod.
- Palate: Whipped cream, pear drops and heather, giving way to barley water, sherbet, sugar cane, nectarine and dandelion.
- Finish: Dry peat, then squashed plums, raisins, cracked pepper and dry straw.
Serving & Food
At 57.7% it rewards patience: nose it neat, then add water a few drops at a time until the barley and fruit open up. Serve with oysters, smoked mackerel pâté on oatcakes, or a creamy blue cheese.
How to Enjoy
Drinkers interested in how barley and place shape whisky, and anyone following the Local Barley series.
Product Details
Distillery: Springbank
Country: Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Category: Single malt Scotch whisky
Series: Local Barley (fourth of five releases)
Barley: Optic, High Cattadale Farm, Kintyre
Vintage / Bottling: Distilled July 2009, bottled October 2018
Age: 9 years old
Cask Composition: 80% bourbon, 20% sherry casks
Outturn: 9,700 bottles
ABV: 57.7%
Proof: 115.4
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Most Scotch is made from barley grown wherever the maltsters can buy it. Springbank's Local Barley series goes the other way. Each release uses barley from a named farm on Kintyre, within a few miles of the distillery, which is then malted on Springbank's own floors, distilled, matured and bottled in Campbeltown. The distillery first used local barley in the 1960s, and bottles from 1965 and 1966 are now auction pieces. The modern series brought the idea back, with a different farm and barley variety for each release.