Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength
Springbadass
1 493
Review by @PeatyZealot
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall93
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- Brand: Springbank
- Type: Scotch
- Region: Campbeltown
- ABV: 50.3%
I saw this one dripping the market a few weeks ago and I figured a CS Springbank on sherrycasks couldnt be that bad and ordered it rightaway. This is batch no7 13/272 (for you Rigo)
Nose: Huge old oak and woodpolish, new suede leather quite a bit of coal smoke, like of smouldering embers. Some mineral flinty notes and a mix of forest fruit. Very big sherried nose with even some gunpowder/fireworks. With water the fruit gets ripe and sticky
Palate: Immediate big oily arrival with buckets of soft red fruit and Glendronach-like bubblegum. Cherry, strawberry, blueberry, peach in a thick, oily coating and just when you wonder if it has more to offer than just fruit, it turns to salty/sweet liquorice and charred oak, resin, forest floor and farmy peat. With water it becomes sweeter with even more juicy summer fruit and orange cream. Then suddenly some spicy flavors kick in. Cloves, Nutmeg, Cardamom mixed with sweet barley. You can chew on it forever, it never gets dull and keeps releasing one big flavor after another.
Finish: Big oaky finish with bitter orange, liquorice and woodsmoke. The creamy red fruit comes back again before leaving you with a pile of earthy ash.
The best 12 year old whisky that I had so far. Excellent from nose to finish. Bought this for €42,-, an absolute steal of a deal:) Try getting a 12y CS Sherried whisky from Islay for that same money... Grab it while its there. I just dont understand one thing, how could a +-70% spirit after being distilled 2,5 times end up at 50,3% after only 12 years in Scottish climate?
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Maybe it was the humidity level. Perhaps that favours loss of alcohol vs water.
Either way, cask strength means full flavour. The amount of alcohol is less important. In fact, the lower the alcohol in a cask strength scotch, the more you can drink at one go without getting too buzzed to fully enjoy it.