Ah, Springbank 21! One of the few bottlings of last year that I really wanted to try, but didn’t want to buy. When it came it out it was available for about € 250 or so, which I find too much for a random bottle of booze. Especially if I haven’t tasted it before.

Anyway, the old Springbank 21, of 1998, 2001 and 2004 I have tasted and those are absolutely stunning. If this one is just half as good, it’d sell out and it did. So this was my chance to see if that is justified!

Springbank 21. The label is shit to take a photo of.

Sniff:
Salted barley with some farmy notes of mud and hay. Also a hint that can be associated with dusty attics: dust, mold and cardboard. There are some sherry notes, but less than there are in the older bottlings. Of course, some old bourbon casks. It’s slightly spicy too.

Sip:
Gentle with hints of vanilla and caramel, sherry and wood. Also the same salt, barley and hay notes as on the nose. Gently spicy too, so all this adds up to typical Springbank if you ask me.

Swallow:
The finish is full but not too long. Slightly salty again with those atticy flavours again. The spices are hard to pin down but I’m starting to think of yellow curry for some reason.

This is a bit of a strange one, mostly because I had expectations of it. It’s not much like the old Springbank 21s and rightly so. They’ve changed their regime a bit with different maturation with mostly bourbon casks. If I look at this without regard for what I expected it simply is a very, very delicious whisky. Very gentle with lots of flavours going on and highly unique. Just like the distillery that runs like you’ve just gone back in time a few decades.

Springbank 21, 2012 edition, 46%, OB. No longer available but used to cost about € 250.
You can get a sample at Master of Malt.