What is the best alternative for Springbank

@NamBeist - Good question!

Tough one to answer as there are so many variables. Just going on profile alone I would say Glen Scotia 15, Ben Nevis 10, Benromach 10 (but previous releases - I hear new batches aren't as characterful) and perhaps AnCnoc 12 all have that full-flavoured, slightly peaty, barley forward nature with a traditional, or old skool, vibe.

Probably some more but that's all I can think of for now.

I haven't tasted from all the distilleries out there but I don't think I've come across a distillery that hits the same buttons as Springbank. I would say there are no real alternatives if you want the same profile. I am most familiar with the 12 YO CS and some of the double matured versions (claret, calvados), and I'm simply glad I have a few in the bunker.

That said, there are so many other great malts out there that one can, and should, live a fulfilled life even if you ca't get your own supply.

I haven't tasted from all the distilleries out there but I don't think I've come across a distillery that hits the same buttons as Springbank. I would say there are no real alternatives if you want the same profile. I am most familiar with the 12 YO CS and some of the double matured versions (claret, calvados), and I'm simply glad I have a few in the bunker.

That said, there are so many other great malts out there that one can, and should, live a fulfilled life even if you can't get your own supply.

And all you need to do to get a taste of Springbank is get three doses of mRNA vaccine (or equivalent - which does not include hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin), come to Toronto, and do a rapid antigen test (provided). And let me know to prepare...

youtu.be/H7w48n-umv4 I have found this video clip at YouTube. Alternative malts which are mentioned, are Benromach, Benrinnes, Mortlach, Kilkerran and one I can't hear.

@NamBeist - Kilkerran and Mortlach are also good shouts. Agree with @Nozinan that Springbank is unique (aren't they all?!) but those definitely have a similar vibe.

@Nozinan thank you for your kind offer to travel to Toronto to get some shots

@RianC Thank you for your responses. I think that Kilkerran is an alternative. I guess it is made by the men who produce Springbank, Hazelburn and Longmore. I appreciate Kilkerran 12 yo. I have never tasted Mortlach. Perhaps I should look for such a bottle on the shelter.

I have done some research concerning alternatives for Springbank. It is not easy to track them down as it is mentioned before.

Benromach 10 yo seems to have dropped in quality after the recent rebranding.

Mortlach 12 and 16 yo have dropped in quality as well. They are not strongly flavored. It seems that it is policy in the industry to introduce high quality whisky's to attract customers. The next batches have not met the expectations in case of Mortlach

Kilkerran is a great alternative for Springbank. Unfortunately, it is not easy to grab one of the shelves anymore because they are getting rare as well.

Ben Nevis 10 yo is still unobtainable on the continent of Europe.

I guess it is time to explore new brands of whisky. Cheers.

@NamBeist I'd agree that Kilkerran is the obvious whisky that is similar to Springbank as it is essentially Springbank with a different name on the label. Unfortunately it's pretty much as difficult to get hold of as Springbank.

Other than that. There is nothing that directly compares to Springbank. It's uniqueness is a lot of it's appeal. As you've mentioned Benromach is probably the closest (without being THAT close). I have a bottle of the Cask strength Benromach open at the moment and it's a decent old skool dram with a bit of peat and at cask strength has a bit more power which is lacking in the 10 and 15.

The Ben Nevis 10 is a good shout. But like Springbank it's not available all the time. Some UK retailers do have stock of it but I guess shipping to Europe is prohibitive (thanks Brexit!).

Glen Scotia as has been mentioned (particularly the Victoriana) is a bit like Springbank.

A new malt people haven't mentioned that is worth keeping an eye on is Ardnamurchan. I have a bottle of this open at the moment (04.21.03) it's not directly comparable to Springbank, nothing is. But it does have quite an old skool character with what I'd say at the moment is medium peat. But that is at 5 years old. By the time the spirit is being sold as an 8, 10, 12 year old it will be lightly peated I'd say. Quite like Springbank. Ardnamurchan also like Springbank is on a peninsular on the west coast. In fact it's the most westerly distillery on the mainland UK. Ardnamurchan is owned by Adelphi independent bottlers so they know a thing or two about good ingredients and good casks. Also they don't take the p**s on the price like some new distilleries. e.g.Charging £60-70 for a 3 year old. Ardnamurchan didn't come to market until it was 5 years old and its consistently priced (in the UK at least) at around £45 a bottle. Definitely worth keeping an eye on Ardnamurchan.

Finally I'd say it will require patience but I think there will be more Springbank-esque whisky on the market in time. There are plans for 2 new distilleries on the Kintyre peninsular. One owned by the company that runs Raasay distillery the other by the owners of North Star independent bottlers. The fact that they've chosen to build their distilleries in an our of the way part of Scotland isn't an accident. You wouldn't choose to build your business there unless the place itself was significant. They'll be hoping to replicate some of the Springbank magic.

scotsman.com/news/people/…

@Wierdo thank you very much for your response! Ardnamurchan is on my wish list of whisky's since yesterday. Thanks to you, it has moved some steps towards the top of it.

@Wierdo I agree, the Glen Scotia Victoriana has some Springbank-like characteristics.

Some alternative malt whisky's were mentioned for Springbank 10 yo on the internet: Loch Lomond 12 yo and Craigellachie 13 yo.

I have had some drams of Craigellachie 13 yo ten years ago, but I don't remember its nose and taste anymore. Are here any fans of Craigellachie 13 yo ?

@NamBeist I reviewed the Craigellachie 17 year old and liked it well enough, but I wouldn't really compare its character to Springbank's.

@OdysseusUnbound thank you for your response. I had more or less the same impression of Craigellachie years ago.By the way, it seems that Craigellachie needs a great amount of time and air to open up the nose and taste. Nevertheless, I keep chasing for an alternative of the grail. I can't help it.

@NamBeist Wow, I wouldn’t put Loch Lomond 12 anywhere in the same universe as Springbank. My bottle of LL12 is a complete oddball. I think if you want it to taste like Springbank, you have to pop for Springbank….assuming, of course, you can find it and it doesn’t require a second mortgage, or the sale of a kid.

@BlueNote Loch Lomond 12 yo was mentioned as an alternative for Springbank 10 yo. I believe this was part of a bad joke. I couldn't understand the gentleman on YouTube very well because of his heavy Scottish accent. Maybe he was a share holder of Loch Lomond. I would not sell my kids for a bottle of Springbank 10 yo. I would sell them for some bottles of Brora or Port Ellen. Who wouldn't?

I have a bottle of Loch Lomond 12 open at the moment (my first). You couldn't really compare it to Springbank taste wise. Although it does have a bit of a funky industrial note which Springbank is famed for. As @BlueNote said it's a definte oddball of a whisky. The first dram I had I didn't like at all. The next couple and it's started to grow on me a bit.

I suspect when people compare Loch Lomond to Springbank it's not that they are similar as such. It's that they are both a bit unique.

There are elements of the profile of Springbank that you'll find in other whiskies. But it is the mix of those elements all together in Springbank that makes it a bit unique.

If you wanted to create something similar to Springbank it might be most achievable by blending 2 or more whiskies with those elements.

I might try and experiment with that at some point!

@Wierdo I've got a bottle of Loch Lomond 18 coming. It was on sale so I thought I'd take a chance.

I like your idea of blending up a Springbank clone.

@NamBeist dear friend, if I wanted to get some Springbank and could not do so I would first go to Kilkerran, and, if that were also unavailable I would just pick up some Ledaig.

I have two bottles of Springbank and one of Hazelburn on hand in my cabinet at present. The one choice I would have changed is that I incorrectly thought that I would get another chance to buy a bottle of Springbank 12 Cask Strength the one and only time I saw it available in my Welt. Nope, I have never again seen a bottle of it offered for sale.

Which Springbank Distillery product, other than the 12 CS would I most love to have? That astonishingly good one-off Longrow Rundlets and Kilderkins which I got a chance to sample from @Nock a few years ago. That, or a bottle of that $ 4,093 40 yo 1967 Duncan Taylor Springbank I once sampled.

wine-searcher.com/find/…

I see today that wine-searcher.com lists the average world asking price for Springbank 12 CS to be $ 428. I like it a lot, but the most I've ever paid for a bottle of whiski is about $ 300, and that was for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 20 yo. I would not normally shell out $ 300 for any bottle of whiski, but at the time I bought the latest bottle of PVW20, late 2014, the average world asking price was about $ 1,500. NOT NOW.

wine-searcher.com/find/…

@Victor I remember being in Edmonton in 2018 for a work conference and I saw some Springbank 12 CS for $130 (I think). I didn't hesitate. I've enjoyed every Springbank I've tried. It's not always around, but that comes with the territory when you deal with a family-owned distillery that chooses to maintain product quality rather than ramp up availability by "relaxing" quality control to increase profits.

@Victor @OdysseusUnbound

Back in the day you could walk in to one of may stores in Calgary and get any Springbank Longrow or Hazelburn at a reasonable price. No more, sadly. They just are not available, and when they are they seem to sell put at any price.

I haven't tried the Longrow R&K, but I still have my bottles of Hazelburn R&K (which I found at a store there years after they were no longer available anywhere), and the Springbank R&K which I ordered inline when a friend was visiting Europe and had it shipped to his hotel, I believe. I worry that they may become too valuable to open by the time I have enough room in my cabinet to open new bottles. Hopefully COVID will wane soon and some of my Connosr friends can visit to help me avoid dying without having tasted them...

@Victor Thank you for your response and your recommendation of Ledaig whisky. Your comment is very appreciated. I tend to see my quest for an alternative for Springbank as an expression of my conservative and nostalgic nature lately. I guess I need to prepare myself for new sensations whether they involve whisky or not. I am quite fond of Port Charlotte right now, especially the 10 yo Heavily Peated. It is great and very available. Thanks again, friend !

I made a couple of malt blends to see if I could recreate something like Springbank 10. If nothing else I figured it would be fun.

I made two 30ml measures.

Blend one - 10ml Loch Lomond 12, 10 ml Glen Scotia Victoriana, 8mls Old Perth (blend of Sherry malts) 2mls Ledaig 10.

Blend two - 15mls Glen Scotia Victoriana, 15mls Benromach cask strength batch 1.

I left them to marry for a couple of days in sample bottles.

Tonight I poured a 15ml measure from each Blend and a 15ml pour of Springbank 10.

Result - Neither Blend really tastes like Springbank 10. Blend one is actually a bit unpleasant!

Blend two (GS Victoriana and Benromach CS) comes closest though. But the Sherry cask influence on the Benromach makes Blend two a bit too sherried to be a good match for SB10. I do however think Blend two isn't a millions miles from Springbank 15. I don't have a Springbank 15 open at the moment to do a comparison but it does have the mixture of campbletown funk and dirty sherry that are the main flavour points of the SB15.

I think if you're trying to recreate Springbank by blending whiskies. Using Glen Scotia and Benromach as a base is a good place to start.

Also I'd agree with @OdysseusUnbound Craigellachie is a nice malt. I've had a bottle of the 13. But it is nothing like Springbank at all.

I also agree with @Victor buy Ledaig when you see it. The quality is very good and the reputation is building (Tobermory not so much, but Ledaig defintely). I think this will become a sought after malt in the coming years.

@Victor I love Ledaig, particularly the standard 10 year old, but I would not have thought of it as an alternative to Springbank 10. I would want them both in my cabinet.