Are we first? Did I publish in time and did Tom write in time? That’d be something, right?

The review of the most recent Springbank 12 Cask Strength is here!

Perfumed Pebbles

Dubbed ‘batch 24’, this is the newest edition of Springbank cask strength, aged for 12 years in a mixture of bourbon (60%) and sherry (40%) casks and bottled at 54,1 % abv. Thanks to lightning-quick delivery via the hands of friends, this landed on the desk and puts us in the position of sharing first impressions.

In lockdown days, I had the opportunity to collect quite a few samples of the more recent batches, roughly between 16 and 21, and almost tasted them all by now. This particular expression is a weird sheep among the Springbank flock. It has not the straightforward (orange) fruitiness of the 10 years old, neither the full-blown sherried hit-to-the-jaw of the 15 years old. More so, batch variation is very noticeable, in my experience. Let’s see where this one lands.

Sniff:
It needs time to open up, and probably some water too, but let’s first do a round undiluted. From what I do get, the sherry is very dominant. The liquid’s color of beautiful gold seems to confirm this. So, a vague fruitiness, mixed with the damp fumes inside a dunnage warehouse. Behind it are some classic sherry notes, raisins, plum, rum even, but also industrial smells like car workshop. Consistent with earlier batches actually. Later-on, I detect something that can only be described as perfumed pebbles. With water it turns full throttle to classic mineral notes (sans perfume). The sherry influences kicked back into the corner. Now it is an amalgamation of senses, truly blooming to full potential.

Sip:
Surprisingly smooth and quite a bit of oily texture. Knowing the SB10 so well, you can easily detect the oranges and tangerines in the depths, once you get through the alcohol layer. It has turned to blood oranges. Good wood spices, subtle milk chocolate notes, nothing too extreme. Makes me think the wood was all second fill. With water this Springbank gets extremely quaffable and much sweeter too. You will down a bottle of this while playing poker with your friends before you can say ‘all-in’.

Swallow:
Almost friendly, a bit of a kick from the alcohol, and very long. Warming the chest. The sherry once more takes center stage, but the bourbon makes it rounded. A good balance, this 60-40. With water truly magnificent chocolate notes that were not detectable when undiluted.

A rather stubborn Springbank that needs some help to reach the 90 points level. But
with patience and some water it really gets there, and then you are in for a treat. If you do not care
too much about nosing your whisky, just put it in a tumbler and go nuts. This malt can deliver on all
fronts.

90/100

About Tom van Engelen

Tom is a whisky enthusiast since the beginning of this millennium, not only savoring the taste of the drink but also the soul of it. Malt whisky from Scotland therefor remains his favorite focus. As former editor of the oldest Dutch whisky magazine he found a passion in writing about whisky too, with a mild preference for the nostalgic. He lives between the big rivers of the Netherlands with his wife Dasha, daughter Sasha and cat Amour.