Product description
Springbank 12 Year Old has been part of the distillery’s core offering for decades, although individual editions vary significantly.
The one presented here is one of the now legendary so-called thistle bottlings (their labels featured a drawing of a thistle). According to Frank McHardy, Springbank's manager and master distiller at the time, at that time the stock of old whisky far exceeded demand. We remember that the crisis on the whisky market in the 1980s caused the closure of over 30 distilleries, many of them permanently. It became a rule to add old whisky to editions with a lower age designation. Springbank followed a similar policy and as we have unofficially learned, the 12-year-old presented here contains 25-year-old whisky (allegedly the alcohol content in it was lower than the legally required 40%).
Nose: rich, sherry, wax, old oak furniture, sea breeze, chocolate mousse, plums, raisins, bitter orange jam, honey, notes of tobacco and leather and peat smoke in the background.
Palate : complex, raisins, prunes, orange peel, mango, crème brûlée, dark chocolate, espresso, nutmeg, black pepper, sea salt, licorice, tobacco and a hint of peat.
Finish : very long, with notes of sherry, coffee, salted caramel, dried fruit, orange chocolate, nutmeg, oak and a distant trace of smoke.