Springbank 1997 12 Year Old Claret Wood

My last whisky review was of the Springbank 11 yr old Madeira Wood Cask Strength that I'd recently tried with my wife, brother and sister in law. We'd go to Helvetica, the local whisky bar, to try some new whiskies.

Specifically in my case some new Campbeltown whiskies.

Not having tried a decent selection of Campbeltown whiskies I was keen to expand my experiences in that area.

I'd purchased the Springbank Madeira Wood while my brother in law got the Springbank Claret Wood.

We all enjoyed the Madeira immensely, but now it was the Claret Woods turn!

Now for the record if I recall correctly this was the point where my brother in law informed me that he'd never tried a Campbeltown until the Madeira Wood.

But if many of them were in the same league as that bad boy, he'd be happy to buy a few bottles.

Time for the Claret Wood!

We pass the glencairn glass back and forth to one another, everyone nosing the glass and then tasting it. There is a lot of grinning around the table.

It's my turn now!

The nose is nothing short of awesome!

Coal smoke, raisins, butterscotch, caramel, raspberries, melons, honey, figs and hints of chocolate.

Wow!

Just wow.

I can't wait to try this bad boy out!

I take a sip and bam!

Flavors explode across my palate!

Raspberries, vanilla, caramel, apples, raisins, orange peel, sea brine, nutmeg, cinnamon, wow, wow, wow and at the end a hint of smoke.

That is a big whisky!

Delicious and big!

The finish is spicy with nutmeg and pepper with smoke at the very end of the palate.

Awesome, complex whisky!

Yeah if more Campbeltowns are like this bad boy we'll definitely be picking up some of these guys.

Hard to find though, limited numbers of Springbanks with wine finishes are available, and I've never seen one in a normal bottle shop.

However for $150 odd dollars, this is bloody good value for money so if you want a complex big whisky, grab it!

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