Yet another sample I had in my cupboard from some years ago! And what a sample it is. A local barley Springbank (they already got me there), from the Springbank Society (cool, cool), from a sherry cask and bottled for the Society’s 10th Anniversary in 2014.

What’s not to love except for the price tag it currently fetches in the secondary market? Not much, I tell you that!

So, one of my favorite distilleries does one of the things I like best about them for a club I’m a member of and really, thorougly, love being a member of. Not sure how I missed this in 2014, but at least I got a sample!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Lots of peat for a Springer. Dry straw and some dark fruit. Loads of barley, dry and crisp. Cherries, blackberries, figs.

Sip:
Quite sharp and hot, pretty clean on the sherry. Again, the dark fruits, with the huge dryness and farminess of the barley.

Swallow:
The finish goes back to smoked cherries, lots of straw and barley. Some oak. Some funkiness that wasn’t there before.

Very rugged, very Springbank. I wouldn’t have guessed Springbank because of the peat on the nose, but since they’re also doing Longrow there might occassionally be some weird combination of the two, flavorwise.

I love the combination of peat and sherry, if done well. And it is done well. The typical ruggedness of Springbank is well represented too. I’d almost give this 90 points, but something holds me back. It’s a very good whisky, but it’s just shy of being THAT good…

89/100

Springbank Local Barley 1999-2014, 14 years old, Refill Sherry Butt, 57.8%, bottled for the Springbank Society. € 975 in the Whiskybase Market…