Springbank RS HHD 10yo (cage bottle) duty paid sample

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEW
A Springbank cage bottle from the 2017 Duty Paid Sample run: a single refill sherry hogshead, ten years old, bottled at cask strength with Warehouse 15 and Rotation 290 on the label. Refill wood means the spirit leads and the sherry supports, which is why serious Springbank people love these. One cask, one bottling, sitting in glass since 2017.
 
THE DISTILLERY
Founded in 1828 and still family-owned, Springbank is one of only three working distilleries left in Campbeltown, and the only one in Scotland to do every stage on site, from floor malting to bottling. Its medium-peated spirit is distilled two and a half times, which gives the house style its oily texture and coastal edge.
 
THE WHISKY: DUTY PAID SAMPLE, 2007 (REFILL SHERRY HOGSHEAD, ROTATION 290)
Distilled 9 October 2007, bottled 23 November 2017 after ten years in a single refill sherry hogshead. Cask strength, 59.2% ABV. Duty Paid Sample bottles come from the distillery’s own warehouses and carry the cask details on the label (here, “RS HHD”).
 
TASTING NOTES
Brine, a drift of peat smoke, sooty and mineral, vanilla pod, lemon peel, orchard fruit. Oily on the palate straight away, salted toffee, dried apricot, a gentle sherry sweetness rather than a heavy one, hessian and a wisp of wood smoke running through the middle. Pepper and barley sugar build with air, a little cocoa late. Finish long and warming, salt and smoke lingering with a touch of dried fruit. Refill sherry lets Springbank’s own character do the talking. Gorgeous, naked Springbank.
 
Serve: Neat, in a Glencairn glass, with a few drops of water at this strength if you want the fruit to open further.