Review #184 - Springbank 15 Year
The awkward middle child? Not necessarily - many will point to Springbank 15 as their favorite of the core range, while others find more value and flavor in either the 10 Year or the 18 Year.
It does stand out as generally the only 100% ex-sherry single malt in Springbank's core range - other ages will sometimes have a majority of sherry, depending on the year of release, but this 15 Year has full-blown sherry maturation. Because of that, and despite the natural color (as usual with Springbank), we get a lovely dark color on the whisky.
Springbank 15 Year
Scotland/Campbeltown - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 160 (2022)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 150 (2023)
Age Statement: 15 Years
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: 100% Ex-sherry casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 5 times over 8 months; bottles at 90%, 70%, 60% (blind tasting), 50%, and 40% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Dark and rich, dirty and a bit musty - cherry cola, root beer, Mexican spiced chocolate, and ginger all come bursting from the glass. The mustiness comes from some damp oak, even slightly mossy, and there's sweetness from brown sugar and chocolate ice cream. Still slightly spirity with hints of peat, which is nice; nice mature flavors of tobacco leaves and cooked plums come later.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium; the palate reflects the nose quite well. Rich sherry notes of dark chocolate, cherry soda, earthy wood smoke, and orange; woody and funky notes like 'dunnage' funk, ginger, roots, and dirt are plentiful. The soft peat mingles with soft cigar smoke, and later, there are some menthol, almost fermented flavors. With more time, spices like chili powder and cayenne waft in.
Finish: Medium-long, and that characterful sherry is still dominant; not as much of a spirit note is lingering at this point. Fizzy root beer, spearmint, cinnamon and clove... it's slightly grungy, slightly musty, and we have aftertastes of pickled ginger, pomegranate, and soft peat.
Final Note: Very musty and deep - this definitely needed some time to open up in the glass. It's definitely a good whisky, but this one is a bit more of a cask story compared to some of Springbank's other more balanced malts, in which you can get a bit more distillate character coming through. The sherry casks (or sherry-seasoned casks) in use are clearly high quality, and there's a decent earthy note that comes with them; if you like some funky, dirty, sherried single malt, this will be right up your alley.
If you can find the stuff, it isn't likely to be the cheapest - value is hurt due to markups and cumbersome distribution processes, at least in our area.
Our Average Rating: 7.4 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.50
