Last week I had the pleasure of meeting a few wonderful whisky bloggers from the UK and Sweden while visiting some distilleries in a trip sponsored by Inver House distillers (owners of Balblair,Knockdhu,Pulteney, and Speyburn). Long and detailed posts about that trip will surely follow in coming weeks….
One of the guys i was really happy to meet was Billy Abbot (A.K.A @cowfish) who recently had become editor of the Whisky Exchange Blog. A great bloke I’ve been tweeting to for some time now. Anyways, Billy was kind enough to bring over a wee sample of a yet to be released bottling of the Single Malts of Scotland (a brand owned by TWE). A youngish Single Cask Springbank, sherry cask. Can it get any better? (Hint: No).
Now, Billy tells me now that some people think it’s too spicy, but man i did like that wee one.
Springbank 1999 distilled 24.9.1999 bottled 22.10.2010 , Single Cask # 114 , Sherry cask, 83 btl, 53% ABV
Colour: Red Mahogany
Nose : Spicy, with ginger, lot dried fruit, and some brine. quite an alcoholic nose at cask strength.
Palate: Massive entry, mouth coating feeling with sweet N’ Spicy (pepper,burnt sugar) , tobacco and touches of leather. in addition some dried fruit mainly sultanas and prunes, covered with bitter cocoa.
Finish : Long, savoury and bitter chocolate that last and lasts.
Bottom line:
Springbank sherry is always nice to come back to (remember my Jazz notes?), and this one is not different. A very nice young, fierce, sherried, spicy little beast. And I like it. It’s not Ultra complex, but it’s well made.
Score: 85/100
Slainte!