Springbank 18yo [2024 Edition]

The Maker

What is there to say about Springbank which hasn’t been said many times before? Over the past decade it has easily become the most desired Scotch, if not whiskies in general, on the planet. This desire has led many releases to become instantly unobtainable to the average drinker, with resale prices rising beyond good reason on auction sites. In some ways this demand is starting to cool of late, with lower age releases sticking on shelves. But demand for higher aged statements is as large as ever, making most released of that type beyond the reach of most drinkers.

Founded in 1828 by the Reid Brothers of Campbeltown, the distillery was born into what was then the capital of Scotch whisky production. In that period Campbeltown was home to close to thirty distilleries employing hundreds of people that drew on local barley and coal supplies to produce tens of thousands of litres of whisky each year that could easily be supplied to cities such as Glasgow, Belfast and Liverpool that were just a few hours away by boat. Ownership of the distillery quickly changed to the Mitchell family in 1837 where it has remained ever since.

Yet despite the dominance of Campbeltown in the 1800s by the end of the Victorian period the region was on the decline, and by the 1920s there were just three distilleries left. Not long after it was down to just two in the form of Springbank and the still surviving Glen Scotia. Scotia however, went through a series of closures and reopenings in subsequent decades meaning that Springbank is the only distillery in the region to have remained open throughout (although it’s fair to say that production was ‘sporadic’ at best by their own admission at times so just how consistent its opening was is up for debate).

Nevertheless, throughout the years Springbank has survived by remaining small, traditional, and focusing on ensuring what it did produce was of the highest quality. This included the development of a range of core age statement single malts from lightly peated barley that are all subject to a 2.5 times distillation process. Such a process is not hugely dissimilar to the likes of Mortlach with their famed 2.81 times distillation, but due to the nature of how that 0.5 is produced, each iteration of it is always going to be distillery specific.

Building on this success Springbank launched two further whisky brands on site in the form of a more heavily peated traditional twice distilled Longrow in the 1970s, and the unpeated (air dried) triple distilled Hazelburn in the late 1990s. They also reopened the nearby Glengyle distillery (which the Mitchell family first founded then sold off) in 2004 where the same team now produce the equally well-loved Kilkerran whisky for several months of the year.

In addition to all this, Springbank’s other USP is for being the only Scottish distillery left where every single step of production talks place on site (save the farming of the barley). As far as I can establish a small number of other distilleries, most notably Islay’s Kilchoman, could in theory achieve this as well, but currently do not do so for every product - thereby leaving Springbank as the holder of this unique status.

Finally Springbank have always been extremely fair with their pricing. They know they could charge two or three times as much for their whisky and lower the quality and still sell it all (looking at you Ardbeg!), but other than very special or old releases, everything they put out is affordable and of the highest quality if you can get it. This is enormously to their credit. But anyway, back to the whisky itself.

The Expression

This is the 2024 edition of the 18yo, meaning that it was matured in 100% ex-bourbon casks. It was released at 46% and obviously isn't coloured or chill-filtered.

The retail cost is around £130 ($175US), but given that this is an older Springbank you won't get it at that unless you're either very lucky or have the right connections. As a result you can either pay an average of £250 ($340US) on auctions after fees or go to a retailer who has decided to try and pocket the difference. I did the latter and picked this up for £190 ($260US) all in from a listed Springbank retailer in the south of England who has a habit of marking things up for such releases. As much as I disapprove of the practice it was the only way I could find to get it for under £200, so since I needed it for a group tasting I held my nose and ensured I never by any non-Springbank stock from that shop, or give it free advertising here.

I'm curious how readers feel about this practice?

The Neck Pour

This is instantly recognisable as Campbeltown on the nose. There’s an oily light peat and barley sugar. But what stands out most here are the tropical fruits. Roasted pineapple and papaya. Then comes the vanilla from the ex-bourbon with just a hint of hazelnut.

All that follows through on to the palate. It’s peat forward but remains light. All the sweet barley sugar, BBQ pineapple and other tropical fruits carry through.

This is everything you expect from Springbank. It’s refined, complex, yet accessible and unassuming. It doesn’t taste engineered like the complex vatting process of a GlenAllachie 10CS or a Laphroaig Lore. It’s not cask forward in that respect. It just works as it is. If I were to compare it to anything it would be the Ballechin 18yo I reviewed last month. Both are 100% ex-bourbon of course, but they share a refined complexity that you don't get in younger malts. I would struggle to pick between them on merit given their differing profiles, but both are very fine whiskies.

The Body

Having this alongside a dram of Springbank's 12CS at a friend's is very interesting. What that lacks in refinement it makes back in punch. This again reminds me of the difference a few extra years in the cask can make.

In the time it's been open it hasn't developed hugely. Sure there are now sweeter notes on the palate followed by a softer oily peat. But it's still those topical fruits that make up the bulk of the flavour and seem rather unique to Springbank.

In short it's still very good and easily worth the asking price if you can get it. Is it worth the extra £90 to get from auction or official retailers cashing in? Probably not. But I’ve had worse £200 whiskies.

Final Thoughts

The longer this has been left to oxidise the stronger the peat becomes. In total it's had about six months open - which I accept isn't very long, but the problem is this is a very drinkable whisky and the tasting with friends took out more than half the bottle.

This increasing peat has never taken the dram close to Longrow territory, but is still in there and akin to something like a Talisker in so much as you welcome that smoky peat, but it never takes away from the rest of the palate. Instead it's still those tropical fruits that remain at the forefront, with the slight additionality of more serial notes and a hint of bitter almond on the finish.

I very much doubt I'll ever be getting my hands on another 18 year old Springbank. While that's a shame, there's enough great Scotch out there to ensure I don't feel too bad about it.