A Visit From Springbank

The full line-up

We were fortunate to have a bonus tasting in August, a rare additional meeting on a Tuesday night.

Campbeltown Loch

The reason: a special visit from one of the best known names in Scotch whisky, Springbank.

Andrew Wallace from the distillery joined us all the way from Campbeltown, weighed down with seven bottles of good stuff that we were all too happy to relieve him of.

He started us off with a blend, Campbeltown Loch. Named for the old Andy Stewart song (he of the White Heather Club: ask your parents, or probably grandparents), this blended malt is a new iteration of a brand which has been on shelves for decades.

Hazelburn 10yo

Andrew explained it's now produced to a relatively new recipe, with five and six-year-old liquid, with all single malts produced in Campbeltown represented (including Springbank's other brands Longrow and Hazelburn, as well as those from the town's other distilleries, Glen Scotia and the Springbank-owned Glengyle). It was quite light when first reintroduced to the market, apparently, but has more sherried stuff in it now hence a darker colour.

We felt we still got more influence from the ex-bourbon whisky though. A bit dry or salty, quite breakfasty with some cereal flavours as well. The RRP is £42 and it comes in at 46%.

Springbank 18yo

Onto Hazelburn next and a 10-year-old described as something of an 'entry level' dram for the brand. Unpeated and triple distilled, this expression was again 46%.

Club members thought this was light, creamy and even tropical. Dried tropical fruits was one suggestion for the palate, with hints of the likes of mango and apricot. It costs £55.

The first bottling of Springbank itself for the evening was whisky number three. At one time, not all that long ago, Springbanks were a regular sight on the shelves of whisky shops everywhere, but having become flavour of the month during and after Covid, they are now rather harder to come by.

Springbank 5yo

The one in the purple label was an 18-year-old, part of a limited annual release at this age. This particular version is due out fairly soon, so we were getting a welcome preview. 

Even though just 5% of the casks used here were ex-rum, we all felt the rum came through the strongest on the palate. It really did taste very lovely, although at £120 some felt the earlier bottles we'd already had offered better value overall. It was again 46%.

Springbank also has a five-year-old on the market, called 100 Proof, and it was up next. At one time distilleries were very reluctant to put a number on the front of their bottles if it was below 10, but with the similarly in-demand Ardbeg also offering a 5yo that seems to be changing.

Springbank 10yo

This particular expression was from the first batch of these, back in August 2025. Andrew told us the availability of more liquid was part of a decision some years ago to expand production, from which the distillery is starting to reap the rewards. This cask strength dram, at 57.1%, hit a lot of the classic Springbank notes: citrus with a hint of peat too. It's £48.

After a half-time break when we could refill our beer glasses downstairs at the Seven Oaks, Andrew picked up with three more drams for us.

Whisky five was the Springbank 10yo, a vatting cask from its manzanilla sherry series. Not out yet, hence the handwritten sticker on the label, this is nice and strong again at 56.2%.

Longrow peated

A bit fiery for some perhaps. We got notes of saltiness, as well as more citrus and a general dryness. A bit harsh, some drinkers felt, or even burny, but that's just what the doctor ordered for others. This will be £95 if you can get it.

Back to Longrow for whisky six and a no age statement peated expression, although again Andrew said the whisky inside the bottle was five to six years old.

A mixture of bourbon and sherry cask, mixed together at the end, this was very lightly peated only and had a very nice nose. Milder than we had expected, in fact. Although originally aimed at imitating Islay whiskies, the sort of peat you get from Springbank is less coastal, more smoky and campfire-y. It's 46% and is available for about £45.

Longrow 10yo

To finish a bit more from Longrow, and a 10-year-old distillery exclusive, of the sort made available daily in its famous 'cage'. This was fully matured in fresh sherry, giving us a "sweet and peat" combination that is often irresistible.

"This is spectacular really" someone offered. Delicious and beautifully balanced, this was well worth every penny of the £72 and a bit more. The ABV was 55.4%. It's enough to make you want to drive all the way to Campbeltown in the hope of picking up something just as good.

That brought us to the dram of the night voting, and as good as that closer was, there was a clear winner: whisky five, the Springbank 10yo, picked up a remarkable 19 votes. There were seven for the Longrow 10yo, with the peated Longrow in third.

Thanks to all club members and those on the waiting list for attending, and to everyone at the Seven Oaks for looking after us as ever, but special thanks to Andrew for fitting us in to his busy schedule, taking the wonders of Springbank out on the road.

We drank all of these

 

The Long and Winding Road to Campbeltown

 

The full line up

For our March tasting, club member Ian took us down the A83 - the fabled 'long and winding road' - to one of the great traditional centres of whisky in Scotland, Campbeltown on the Mull of Kintyre.

Hazelburn 10yo

He had half a dozen drams for us all connected to J&A Mitchell, owner of Springbank and Glengyle distilleries in the town, as well as the Cadenhead's independent bottler and whisky shop.

The opening whisky was a 10-year-old Hazelburn, one of the collection of brands produced at Springbank that uses a name associated with the town's long whisky-making heritage. It was a triple distilled and unpeated dram, acting as our calibration for the evening.

Enigma 25yo

And it did a pretty good job. Easy drinking and fruity we thought, apples or even toffee apples on the palate. Almost like a summer cider. Delicate with a floral finish. A real easy drinker all round and very pleasant. It was £52 and came in at 46%.

Next it was something from the Cadenhead's stable, a 25-year-old blend matured in refill sherry casks and released under the Enigma name last summer.

With not much information available as to what was actually in it, this was a little bit of a step into the unknown. Prunes and strawberry sauce perhaps. Definitely sherry characteristics and a nice texture. Oily and a bit woody. Had it spent too long in the cask, perhaps?

Enigma 15yo

The fact it had been bottled at 41.4% indicated that it may have been in danger of slipping below the magic 40. It did have a little bitterness about it, along with peppery notes and aniseed as well. It cost £70.

Another Enigma bottle which Ian was able to secure for us was the sister expression, a 15-year-old, and we had it in our hands for whisky three. Less mystery about this one, a blended malt mixing Hazelburn and Kilkerran and coming in at 48.2%.

"Very nice, can we have another?" This gave us tropical fruits and was juicy and oily. Salty notes too, also peppermint and possibly a bit of melted butter as well. Nice and smooth all round. Well worth the £65.

Ord 13yo

After a half-time break and an opportunity to refill our beer glasses downstairs at the Britons Protection bar, it was back for the second trio.

Dram four was another Cadenhead's, this time an Authentic Collection bottling from Glen Ord, a name generally only seen in conjunction with Diageo's The Singleton brand. The special twist here was the finish in Armagnac.

Delicate on the nose, but with a real punch in the mouth, suggested someone. There was lots of enthusiasm for this - "delicious" and "glorious" - we felt. A lot of dried fruits were in evidence, and it was also strong enough to take a bit of water. No surprise really at 56.4% and plenty of folk felt they'd be interested in buying it at the price tag of £70 (you can still buy it online from Cadenhead's themselves).

Glen Grant 14yo

Sticking with Cadenhead's and we had a monster of a sherry dram waiting for us next, a 14-year-old Glen Grant finished in a Pedro Ximenez hogshead. Incredible on the nose, this was very chewy and big tasting on the palate. It tasted all of its not inconsiderable 59.9%.

Again it took a bit of water and we also thought it was excellent value at £75. 

Union 5yo

If the colour of number five was impressive, our last dram of the night looked even more distinctive. We were tasting it blind and on first impressions it was thick and oily like treacle. "I love this but it's not quite as good as five" was one widely held view.

On revealing the identity, it turned out to be a Cadenhead's bottling of a whisky from Brazil and the Union distillery - our first ever from the country. The colour came from the Oloroso sherry hogshead and it was another chunky dram at 56.9%. Sharp tasting and good value at just £45, we felt this could be even better with a bit longer. A great effort though and incredible for a whisky so young.

Which brought us to the dram of the night voting. All whiskies got at least one vote, but in the end it was an easy triumph for the Glen Grant with no fewer than 19 votes. The Ord was second and the Union third, making it a Cadenhead's 1-2-3.

Thanks to Ian for putting on such a great tasting for us, and to all club members and those on the waiting list for attending, as well as to all at the Britons for hosting us again. 

Members' Choices

The full line-up

For March's tasting we made a welcome return to the Britons Protection, to try a series of six different drams picked by six of our club members.

Tim almost blew the top off the budget straight out of the gate with the opening bottle of the evening. He went for a Benromach 21-year-old, a 43% that comes in at £129.

A Speyside sherry cask, this tasted chunky and smooth. Lots of almonds in evidence we thought, certainly a hint of marzipan and, more generally, Christmas cake. "This would make a great whisky sour," someone commented, before hearing how much we spent on it, "but not at that price!" A very nice drop all the same, though.

Dan presented whisky number two, and it was something from the Fettercairn distillery. He explained he hadn't thought much of their younger expressions, but had his head turned by some of their better stuff when visiting their stand at a whisky show.

That included the 16-year-old that was in our glasses (the older ones were even better, he said, but were a little pricier than the £65 this one retails for). More sherry cask, this time a mixture of Oloroso and the more rarely seen Palo Cortado. Very good we felt, but if anything it's possible the sherry actually detracted from the whisky, as the spirit seemed to be just fine without too much of that. We were quietly impressed. It's 46.5%.

Onto whisky number three, then, and Paul produced one of his absolute favourites for us, a Glenfarclas 21.

Back to Speyside with more sherry, this time full Oloroso. Smooth, fruity, some nutmeg, and a mixture of both sweetness and sharpness. At 43% and £95, beautifully drinkable. As someone suggested, "a warm hug of a whisky." One for after Christmas dinner, perhaps.

After a half-time break, I got up to introduce my choice, a Glen Garioch. As an Aberdonian, this is just about my own local distillery.  I wanted to try it because I'd had a go at some of their standard bottlings over the years and fancied something a bit more special. I picked out this 19-year-old, a 1999 wine cask bottled in 2018, and fully matured in wine casks from Chateau Lagrange in Bordeaux (owned by Suntory, as in Glen Garioch).

Tasting notes on this included red applies, berries and ginger biscuits. This went down well, and further suggestions included Christmas cake (again) and jam (!). This was 48% and £104.

Two to go and we were off to the other end of the Highlands next, Martin taking us to the Ardnamurchan distillery on the coast overlooking Mull. One of the newer and hotly tipped distilleries around, here we had batch 07.21.05, a mix of 50% peated and 50% unpeated, and 65% bourbon casks and 35% sherry.

This was a 4-year-old and we felt it had plenty of potential, although it had perhaps been bottled a bit soon. Very drinkable and certainly one to watch. This had peat on the nose but not on the palate so much, it was quite sweet in fact.

Ian treated us for the last bottle with the fruits of a recent visit to Campbeltown. He paid tribute to Craig behind the counter in the Springbank shop for recommending the Longrow Red 15-year-old, finished for the last few years in Pinot Noir casks.

Slightly peated, we were getting toasted sesame. Sweetness was there again, including red berries. Really nice, this, and highly enjoyable all round. "Lots going on" as someone said, and no doubt one we'll be angling for an extra dram from when it comes around to the Christmas party. It was 51.4% and good value at £65.

The dram of the night voting resulted in an overwhelming victory for the Longrow! The Glenfarclas was second and the Glen Garioch third, but most of the membership cast their votes for the bottle from Campbeltown. Thanks to all members for attending, and especially those who chose and presented bottles.

Also thanks to the Britons for hosting us once again, at what is an uncertain time for what is one of the great pubs, in Manchester or anywhere else. You can read more about that and sign the petition at this link.

Campbeltown Night

 

The (hopefully) last Zoom tasting!

September's tasting was, we hope, the last of our regular monthly events to take place remotely via Zoom, at least for the time being. October would see us back in the surroundings of the Briton's Protection. But for this tasting, we had a range of premium whiskies from Campbeltown to try.

2x Springbank

Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world, but declined dramatically during the early part of the 20th century and there are now just three distilleries, although that is just enough for it to retain its designation as a whisky 'region' in its own right. Those are Springbank, Glen Scotia and Glengyle, and we had whiskies from each to try as part of the line up.

We started off with two drams from Springbank. The first was a distillery bottling under the Hazelburn brand, a single cask 15-year-old released in 2018. Somewhat unusually, it had full maturation in a Cognac butt.

This got the evening off to a strong start. A bit of a salty tang at first, and it gave way to a very thick, buttery finish. Beautiful all round. Some drinkers had to add a bit of water to fully enjoy it, and duly reported waves of flavour on the finish, along with a good mouthfeel.

Glen Scotia 17yo

It was just as well we got to enjoy it, because bottles are pretty scarce. It was originally £94 but one went for £250 at a recent auction. It was 53.9%.

For a counterpoint we moved onto a second Springbank, this time an eight-year-old aged in fresh sherry casks and bottled under the distillery's own name, from the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2019. This was sweet on the nose, so there was no mistaking the sherry. On the palate, we got tobacco, a real spicy, peppery taste, and overall it tasted quite dry. It was better with a bit of water, as that opened up the already impressive nose a bit further. Burnt toffee was one tasting shout at this point. In your face as a dram, but with a lot going for it.

We felt this didn't necessarily taste like an eight-year-old, but also that it might have improved still further with a bit longer maturation. We bought ours for £65 but at a recent auction it went for £275. It was 56.8%.

Glen Scotia 14yo

Leaving Springbank behind, we went to Glen Scotia for drams three and four. Number three was a 17-year-old, the Master Distillers Edition from 2020, aged in refill American oak. Many of us in the club are fans of the distillery's output today, it offers some good value drams, so we were looking forward to tasting this. Again, we were not disappointed!

There was a little bit of coconut in there, someone felt, and the nose and the finish were the high points, if anything a bit stronger than the actual bit in the middle. Some drops of water opened it up nicely. Some felt this was very slightly uninspiring compared with what had gone before, but others appreciated the subtletly of it. It was £170, and there aren't any more bottles available anywhere as far as we could tell.

Longrow 15yo

The other Glen Scotia was also from 2020, a peated bottling from that year's Malts Festival. It was a 14-year-old, with an American oak and port finish. There was a hint of peat but that was all, didn't hit as strongly as you might have expected. Certainly perfectly drinkable, maybe even more drinkable than some of the big hitters from the earlier in the tasting, but maybe less memorable as a result. Someone tried this with a bit of water and said it transformed the dram into something spectacular - "a taste explosion" - but a a few of us had foolishly finished ours before getting this advice!

It was 52.8% and cost £75 at the time, but the cheapest bottle we could find online today was going for £250.

Glengyle 5yo

We were back to Springbank for dram five, a 15-year-old Longrow, again bottled for the 2019 Malts Festival, and matured in first fill rum. This was slightly sweet on the nose, gentlre, although we weren't sure about the end of the finish - a bit bitter, or briney we felt. Not bad overall but not a hell raiser. No need to add any water here. This cost £75 at the time but is currently going for four times that online, and it was 52.4%.

And last it was off to Glengyle, the last of the trio of Campbeltown distilleries. Owned by J&A Mitchell, which also operates Springbank, it was revived early this century. Here, we were trying a 2021 distillery bottling under the Kilkerran name - the company was not able to re-acquire the Glengyle brand! - a five-year-old matured in fresh Oloroso sherry casks.

Custard, caramel, in fact a creme caramel, with burnt vanilla on the nose. A little young perhaps, a bit green, an instant alcoholic sort of a taste. Maybe a bit too young, although others thought it was really nice. Water killed it though! But still worth the £50 we paid for it, although it's now going for £100.

To the dram of the night voting then, and there was a rare victory for the opening whisky of the evening - dram number one!

Thanks to all club members for once again attending this virtual tasting and to the committee for assembling this terrific line up - a set of whiskies which would cost around £1300 to buy today.

The 2020 Christmas Party

 

Another Zoom tasting!

One of our annual traditions at Manchester Whisky Club is the Christmas party. In the past this has usually involved a big get-together at the Britons Protection, often involving the leftover whiskies from the year's tastings. This year, as with most things, we had to do it remotely on Zoom. But thanks to some wonderful organising from host Adam and the rest of the committee, we had a great night of entertainment and a range of whiskies to try.

Hazelburn 13yo

Everyone had a few small surprise samples to try along with the main line-up for the tasting, with the little bits leftover from bottles we tried earlier in the year, so we'd all had the chance to drink something in advance of the opening dram.

We got going with a 13-year-old from Hazelburn, a brand used by the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown. This was an unpeated expression, matured in Oloroso sherry casks. And that sherry certainly came across when we tried it, with a real Christmas cake sort of feel about it. There was also a definite toffee thing going on as well, so all very appropriate for the time of the year.

Someone suggested a bit of water helped smooth things out a bit. Certainly sweet and bold. It was £54 when available (it no longer is, the run of 9,000 bottles has long gone) and it's 47.4%.

James Eadie Benrinnes

The next whisky was a Benrinnes from independent bottler James Eadie. Again 13 years old, this was finished in a bual Madeira hogshead, but it had a much more limited run of 311 bottles, again all now sold.

And no wonder, because it was really very nice indeed. Fairly subtle on the nose but then big and buttery in the mouth, it had a spicy thing going on, maybe cardamom, and also pear drops. It was good value too at £49, and it was 56.1%.

WB Blair Athol

One of the club's favourite independent bottlers is Whiskybroker, run by Martin Armstrong, and we had one of their bottlings for the third dram of the night. It was a Blair Athol released last summer, which quite a few of the club members took the opportunity of buying at the time. Sharing the wealth with those who missed out first time around, Adam presented us with the red wine-finished 10-year-old.

You could really tell the red wine a mile off with this one. It helped give the whisky a very distinctive flavour which lingered very pleasingly, too. As is always the case with Whiskybroker, an excellent value bottle at £50, and it was 56.5%. This went down very well indeed.

SMWS 37.96

Next up we had a dram from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This was number 37.96, named 'Cinnamon Semolina Pudding' that was a 13-year-old from Cragganmore on Speyside. This had most of its ageing in an ex-bourbon hogshead before finishing in first fill Pedro Ximenez sherry.

And once again it was strong and sweet and smooth, tasting all of its 58.7%. But it also definitely had something interesting with the texture, which is presumably where the SMWS tasters got that 'semolina' reference from. It was part of the October 2017 outturn by the SMWS, and at the time was £56 for members.

Caol Ila 9yo

To finish, as we often do, it was off to Islay for a taste of something peaty. It was a 9-year-old Caol Ila, produced by The Whisky Exchange in 2019 for The Whisky Show, to honour their 20th anniversary. It was fully matured in refill sherry.

It certainly gave us a big blast of peat. The sherry gave it a lingering finish and it was definitely a complex whisky. We thought that, if anything, it might have done from a little extra time in the wood to really bring out more of the flavours.

Amidst all this, Adam kept us all going with a range of quizzes, and thank you to him and everyone who took part, for another successful lockdown tasting.

The dram of the night, mustn't forget that, actually apparently I did because I can't find the results anywhere, so they may well be lost in the mists of time. But for what it's worth my vote would be for the Whiskybroker Blair Athol!

Old and Rare Night With Angus MacRaild

The full line-up!

Our annual Old and Rare night is always one of the highlights of the Manchester Whisky Club year, and this time we had a record attendance of members old and new, plus some guests, as Edinburgh-based whisky expert Angus MacRaild took us through some bottles from his own personal stash.

G&M Edradour 10yo from 1982

In fact, it was the biggest turnout at a Whisky Club meeting ever, and the top room at the Britons Protection was packed as Angus got the evening underway with the first of six drams.

And it was an Edradour, distilled in 1972 and bottled by Gordon and MacPhail a decade later at 40%, as part of its long-running Connoisseur's Choice range. As Angus explained, Edradour has had a bit of a mixed reputation over the years, but some of the older bottlings are worth exploring.

Bruichladdich 15yo from 1990

He recommended this particular one as an example of an old-style Scotch whisky, of the sort that might have been commonplace in your local newsagent once upon a time. This was nice although at the same time, a bit cardboardy. But it certainly got the evening off to a solid start.

Next we went to Islay and Bruichladdich, a club favourite in general, but on this occasion we were trying a dram from long before its recent resurgence. It was a 15yo, distilled in the mid-70s and bottled around 1990.

This was really very pleasant indeed. Beautiful and light, with a soft fruitiness about it. "Starchy!" as someone suggested. Bruichladdich don't make them quite like this anymore.

G&M Scapa 8yo from early 1980s

We were back to Gordon and MacPhail for the third dram, and this time the whisky was from Orkney's Scapa distillery, in the form of an 8yo bottled in the early 1980s.

At 57% this packed quite a punch at first, but that soon gave way to something sweet and sherried, "like candyfloss inside" as someone commented. It was a spicy one too, quite unusual with lots of character. It also changed quite a bit with a few drops of water. Arguably a bit more interesting than some of the more modern expressions to have emerged from Scapa.

Pure Malt Gold 106, mid 1980s

After a half-time break and a refill of our pint glasses at the Britons bar, we tried the fourth whisky of the night and the third and last of the G&M bottlings. This was a Pure Malt Gold 106, bottled in the mid-1980s.

A 10yo expression, the actual distillery or distilleries involved remain something of a mystery. Although the sherred, Speyside-style put plenty of drinkers in mind of a slightly more subtle version of Christmas favourite Glenfarclas 105. It's 60.5%, which Angus suggested gave it a "big, hot and healthy" character. People really liked this one.

SMWS North Port 16yo from 1996

Angus brought the evening to a close with two old bottlings from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. And the first was a real rarity for the club, our first ever taste of North Port - and indeed, even the club's most experienced whisky fans had never had anything from this distillery before. Situated in Brechin, north of Dundee close to the Angus coast, it was mothballed in 1983 and later demolished, and these days you can't easily get a bottle for much below £350, witih almost no new bottlings these days.

This particular expression was a 16yo, bottled in 1996 at 57.3%. And it got the thumbs up, with comments including "nicely spicy" and "waxy character". There was a lot going on on the nose, too, although this divided opinion a little more.

SMWS Longrow 14yo 2004

We finished off with a more recent SMWS bottling of a Longrow from the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown, dating from 2004.

It was a 14yo at 57.8%, and was a peaty one, but "not in an Islay way, more in a smouldering beach smoke way". That subtle smokiness gave it a take on peaty whisky which was a new one for some of us, and very welcome it was too!

And this last whisky came pretty close in the dram of the night voting, but it was just edged out by number four, the Macphail's Pure Malt Gold 106. Given that particular whisky's sherry character, and the number of sherry monsters inhabiting the club, perhaps the outcome was no surprise really!

Thanks must go to Angus for travelling down from Edinburgh for the tasting and bringing not only six great bottles from his collection, but also giving us the benefit of his great whisky knowledge. And also thanks to faces old and new who made this maybe our most memorable tasting yet.

Campbeltown Capers

At the end of November we held another one of our now legendary tastings dedicated to the small and often overlooked region of Campbeltown in Scotland. Campbeltown is one of if not the smallest whisky producing region in Scotland.

In the late 1800's and early 1900's Campbeltown was known as 'The Whisky Capital of the World' as over 20 active distilleries operated in a very small area. However, since the demand for Scotch whisky in the US was so high, the quality of the spirit produced by the majority of the distilleries was very low.

When Prohibition was implemented in the US, most of the distilleries in Campbeltown closed. They could no longer sell off their stock and for those distilleries that had kept the spirit quality high could sell to the UK market generally speaking.

We've covered whiskies from every area except this to date so now we jumped in with both feet to sample some of the delights from the Mull of Kintyre.

Kilkerran Work in Progress V - Bourbon Wood 46%

Kilkerran is the trading name of the recently opened Glengyle distillery operated by J&A Mitchell of Springbank fame. The distillery was one of those affected by a culmination of Prohibition and the great depression.

However, Glengyle has been operational now for over 9 years and have been releasing these 'Work In Progress' bottling's as a way  not only to introduce people to the brand but also as a way of contributing to keeping the distillery going.

A very spicy, creamy and punchy 9yr old whisky this. This year is the first time Kilkerran releases have come as a pair! One matured in bourbon casks and another in ex sherry casks. The bourbon caks dram offers not only the spice mentioned above but also fresh green apple notes and a lovely vanilla overlay.

This is a very good whisky indeed and you can easily see the quality of the spirit that J&A are putting into this. More official releases will be on their way when the stock matures. I can see great things coming through Glengyle's doors.

Hazelburn 12 - 46%

Hazelburn is actually distilled at the famous Springbank distillery. Whereas Springbank and its smokier brother Longrow pack a peaty punch, Hazelburn is the Distillery's un peated bottling. Hazelburn is named after another of the now defunct Campbeltown distilleries.

The spirit is distilled 2 and a half times, almost akin to triple distilled malts such as Auchentoshan and a lot of Irish whiskey. However, not quite. 

This malt carries a very fresh, salty sea air element reminiscent of an Islay or North Highland malt. There is also toffee, fresh porridge and honey on show.

Glen Scotia 21yr Bottled by Cadenheads - 52.2%

Originally founded in 1832, Glen Scotia has a bit of a patchy and unfortunate history. In 1930 the then owner of the distillery, Duncan Macallum, took his own life after losing a lot of money in a dodgy business deal by drowning himself in a local loch. Nice.

Glen Scotia has been mothballed several times and reopened. Most recently a stint in the 1980's.

This 21 yr old has been bottled by Cadenheads and comes from a single ex bourbon hogshead cask. It displays notes of haylege, cream and apple whilst retaining salty character and slight frames of smoke encasing the whole thing. A pleasant and interesting dram.

Springbank 12yr Cask Strength Batch 5 -  53.1%

There are 3 different Malts distilled at Springbank distillery. However tonight we looked at just the 1 to carry the Distillery's name on the label. This was Batch 5 of Springbank's 12yr old Cask Strength range.

Springbank malts its own barley on site, one of the few distilleries still to do so in Scotland, it also contains an element of peated malt providing a well rounded and chunky character.

This particular bottling was very up front in its intentions and exploded with pear, salt, chunky toffee, grilled toast, and with a long and lasting finish warming till the end yet retaining a surprising smoothness throughout.

Longrow Peated -  46%

Longrow is the third and final malt to be distilled at Springbank. This bottling is one of the newest additions to the range and is a heavily peated no age statement single malt.

There are other expressions of Longrow including a delectable 18yr old but with this particular bottling coming in at a very reasonable £35-£40 it would be very rude not to give it a go.

The Longrow was at first quite tight and only giving away hints of what was to come. There was woodsmoke on the nose alongside ginger snap baskets and fresh bread. Then surprisingly citrus fruit and nuts. The palate carried through with a good mouthfeel and charred naan, salt, white pepper and vanilla sponge.


Out of the lineup the Springbank CS Batch 5 was the standout winner closely followed by the Longrow and Kilkerran. A great example of what variety such a small region can bring whilst retaining character and recognisable characteristics.