This dram and those notes are all in honor of a fellow whisky blogger and mensch who recently stopped blogging about this favorite drop of liquor : whisky. I guess those of you who are / were a part of his whisky fabric, know who I am talking about. Whisky connected people all over the globe and I am lucky to have made his acquaintance, and sure he’ll be back with a vengeance soon. here’s to you mate! Now, this wee dram was part of a sample swap we conducted a few months ago, and I need not tell you that I really dig Springers, being mostly well made, in that artisan distillery which works like most used to. Low volume, everything done on site, lovely. Having tasted quite a few of their new drams, and hearing great stuff about this 21 year old (not the one released last year, but this from the 1990’s) I had to try and see for myself if it really lives up to its reputation.
Springbank 21 yo, 1990’s , 46% ABV 
Nose: Spicy stuff, followed by fruitier sultanas, some black currant, cranberries, a dash of salt, while still quite sugary as in Demerara sugars, grape peel and a very faint hint of tobacco. a very nice and complex nose.
Palate: Spicy and pepper on entry too, with a lot of classy old wood, dusty cellar sort of, then enters the fruit, with a sprinkle of white pepper followed by apple, bitter grape peel, as in very dry white wine, sultana, some butterscotch, not very salty at all. rather playing the bitter-sweet-fruity-woody game with twists at random points in time, which make it all the more interesting.
Finish : Bitter wood and sweet sultana , fig and some black fruit again.
So, how was it? Top dram no doubt, and now I am beginning to regret not getting the 21 year old released last year… oh well, can’t have them all, can I?
Super complex, super nice. a big like. Superb stuff.
Score: 92/100
Cheers for the sample Coop!
Hi Gal. I just opend a 12 year old Springbank from the 80’s. Fantastic and much better than the standard OB nowadays. I bring you a sample in december 🙂 Best regards, Jorn, Denmark
December you say? good news, didn’t know you are coming. 😉
always happy to meet you ,my friend, samples or no samples. Hope you can visit my home this time and enjoy my bar. 😉
We arrive on 21st and leave on the 30.12,2012. No plans so far, so I try to arrange something 🙂
A lovely review of a lovely dram. This is one of those whiskies that made a whisky lover of me. This particular bottle tided me over in dark times and brightened my heart. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your kind comments. It’s true that I’m putting the blog on hiatus after I finish a couple of last posts in progress but I’ll be with you in spirits and comments. And I’ll probably return to blogging in the end. I do love my love of whisky and writing about whisky!