Springbank Cask 450

46% abv

Score:  87.5/100

Here’s an odd Springbank.  Not one you’re likely to find easily and not not one you’re bound to hear much about either.  Tracking down details on this one is like hunting for hen’s teeth.  Call me lazy, but I’m simply not willing to do spend a whole whack of time trying to suss out details on a malt that was a very limited run, and is really only being written up for vanity.

It’s an official Springbank distillery bottling.  15 or 16 years old.  Bourbon cask matured.  And that’s about it.  Good enough for this guy, except I guess I’ll take the opportunity to remark on the rather mundane (and let’s face it…bloody boring) packaging.  Oh well.  True beauty is that which comes from within (so sayeth us ugly ducklings).

This bottle was picked up locally here in Calgary for a gent’s night with a few of my good mates.  It was a rather surprising affair, being a little bit less instantly endearing than most expressions from Campbeltown’s best distillery, but a pleasant malt nevertheless.  The straight bourbon cask maturation makes this one a bit unique.  Not one for the ages, but certainly does the trick today.

Nose:  Peat and smoke.  Chewy red candy.  A little bit salty.  Old dunnage warehouse notes.  Prickly cracked white pepper.  Good rye toast with butter.  Good mix of spice and old wood.  Crunchy bartlett pear and some apple.

Palate:  Immediately peaty with iodine and green apple.  Thick and syrupy delivery.  A Bovril meatiness meets dried fruits.  Quite a spicy tang to it.  A better nose than palate, but still decent here as well

Thoughts:  I think maybe the simplicity of the wood allows the peat to show through a little bigger than we’re used to from Springbank.  You’ll undoubtedly find better Springbanks out there, but this is still a neat one to try.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt