Let’s dive right in, right?

Sniff:

Image from Whiskybase

On the first whiff I get dry barley and tree bark. A very light and crisp mezcal scent with lemonbalm, some diesel but not really smoky. It gets a bit more warming (less crisp). Some crumbly pastry. Very late I get some slate and iron.

Sip:
The palate is tingling and dry with lots of barley. Apple and the crumble pastry. That mezcal-like flavor is present on the palate too. Not too oaky with that hint of iron again.

Swallow:
The finish is, again, a bit more warming. Slightly dry with some oak and mezcal.

After tasting this I had no clue to a distillery, but the very small iron and apple note made me think of Arran. Somehow, it didn’t feel right since I didn’t find it fruity enough, but I had nothing more to go on, so I went for it. I went for some random data in a 15 year old and 53% abv.

It turned out to be a 14 year old Springbank, and that quite surprised me. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an iron note in Springbank before, and Springbank generally is a bit more dirty or funky. This must be the cleanest Springbank I’ve had in a long time!

All in all it’s a rather delicious dram, albeit unexpected. There’s quite some scents and flavors to be discovered and it’s not too cask driven. The combination of fresh and refill casks works very well. And the fact that I like mezcal kind of helps, I guess.

Oh, I got 30 points for being close in regards to the age.

88/100

Springbank 14, 2002-2017, Fresh and Refill Bourbon Barrels, 55.8%. Varying prices, check Whiskybase