Review #355 - Adelphi Springbank 21 Year Single Cask
Springbank isn't an easy whisky to find in OB form, and it gets even more challenging in IB form, though there is a decent amount of independently bottled single malt from the distillery floating around. This generally comes from the highest quality indie bottlers - Cadenhead's, Blackadder, Signatory Vintage, and Adelphi, to name a few.
This single cask bottling is indeed from Adelphi, and they aged it for an impressive 21 years before bottling it at a cask strength of 53.4% ABV. For the full 21 years, this was matured in a refill rum cask, so it's a slightly unusual Springbank, possibly hinting at some sweeter flavors; as always with Adelphi, we get high-quality presentation, without any chill filtration or added caramel coloring.
Adelphi Springbank 21 Year Single Cask
Scotland/Campbeltown - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 610 (2024, based on recent auction results)
Age Statement: 21 Years
Strength: 53.4% ABV
Cask Makeup: Matured in a refill ex-rum cask
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled 1999, bottled 2021, cask 308; 181 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 30% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Quite subtle - hints of smoke, along with some sweet rum notes: banana, some sweeter brown sugar. With time, a strong pineapple note develops.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thick, and the first note is coconut - strong coconut, leaning quite sweet again. There's more pineapple, like the nose, and the sweetness becomes syrupy and rich with time.
Finish: Warming with the strength, and there's some dry oak now arriving; sweet syrup and demerara sugar are strong, and we get a bit of a licorice spice kick in the aftertaste. It's a long finish, and there's a lingering honey note, as well.
Final Note: While this is a refill cask, the full 21 years of ex-rum maturation ensures that there's still a strong rum influence on the spirit - lots of sweet notes, along with coconut and fizzy pineapple. While the nose was quite subtle, the palate was more heavy-handed, and the strength brought a nice mouthfeel. A good whisky which split our opinions a bit, potentially due to the mix of subtle and overpowering sensations.
In terms of value... it isn't great, as you might expect. This is a well-aged Springbank, so prices would already be high; due to the limited single cask nature, and the fact that this release is now several years old, the secondary/auction prices are now quite high.
Our Average Rating: 7.0 / 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: 3.21
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
