Like the Bruichladdich, this Springbank was part of a series of sherry cask matured whiskies. Unlike the Bruichladdich, the Springbank was matured entirely in an ex-fino sherry cask for 14 years. Another key fact is that it was bottled at full cask strengh, in this case 55.3%, compared to the Bruichladdich's 46%. But interestingly, there were still quite a lot of similarities between the two.
Nose: very rich, fino sherry is noticeable but not aggressive, a hint of raisins, maritime peat and salt, massive nougat and caramel, alcohol is also present but surprisingly subdued. After adding a few drops of water, the caramel and nougat dominate, the whisky becomes creamier, and the alcohol actually seems to have more heat.
Taste: sweet caramel up front, then big pepper, becoming creamier further back with notes of oxidized sherry. After dilution, it becomes smoother and richer up front, fruity sherry mid-palate and more wood and pepper at the back, making the whisky rather drying.
Finish: creamy salt, light raisins, a touch of bitter oak, sherry. After dilution the alcohol burn seems turned up, with more bitterness and a general savory effect on the sherry.
For having a relatively simple flavor profile, I found this whisky incredibly compelling. In my notes I wrote "Bruichladdich turned up to 11" and that roughly sums it up. For being aged entirely in a fino sherry cask, the sherry's influence was much more mild. The same notes were there, but they took a back seat to what I would think of as typical bourbon barrel character. In terms of my own enjoyment, I'm pretty sure that bottling at higher proof was the clincher. For whatever reason, Springbank's whiskies seem to shine at cask strength. However, even a little water was enough to take this one down several notches - my sense was that while the whisky became smoother and richer, the loss of complexity and the increased aggressiveness of the alcohol (which, admittedly might have toned down if I had had the time to let it breath longer) made it a lousy trade-off.
Having had a dram, I'm especially sad that I missed out on getting a bottle of this whisky (for an absurdly low price) earlier this year. It's an extremely enjoyable whisky that makes me want to explore the rest of their single cask whiskies.
I wish I had got all four. I have the Manzanilla, and it doesn't sound as good as the Fino... damnit!
ReplyDeleteI was going to say that your notes for the Manzanilla cask actually sounded a bit more complex, but this one does get major points for sheer intensity. It was a wonderful dram.
DeleteI ended up getting the Amontillado (must have been thinking of Poe at the time). I'm finding it very similar to your tasting notes for the Fino.
ReplyDeleteI actually ordered a bottle of the Amontillado Cask from The Party Source when they had their cheap shipping day, but once again lost out (same thing happened when I tried to order the Fino Cask from them). C'est la vie. There's a bar in the area that has the Amontillado and Oloroso Cask whiskies, so at least I'll get to sample them.
DeleteActually, on my fourth tasting of the Amontillado cask, I'm going to say the sherry notes are relatively light but the peat and maritime notes have gotten stronger with water. The Springbank signature hasn't been covered by the sherry at all.
DeleteNow I'm even more sad that I didn't manage to score a bottle of the amontillado cask. Peat was one of the few things missing from the fino.
DeleteBoth the Fino and the Amontillado sound better than the Manzanilla. I'm jealous of Hansell who got to taste them all head to head. Actually I'm jealous of him about many things... They are all very nice. I'm coming to enjoy that bit of lemon, sea brine, and must that's in newer Springbanks. It's a very cool flavor profile.
ReplyDeleteI also love "The Cask of Amontillado". It's one of the coolest darkest tales ever told. What a protean nightmare.
There are many reasons to be jealous of John Hansell, though the traveling and schmoozing would be big minuses for me.
DeleteI can't complain too loudly about my latest purchases from TPS though. I got a couple of good-looking Longrows that should give me more data for my slowly building hypothesis that Springbank's current products are significantly better at cask strength than 46%.
There are still a couple stores out there selling the Fino Sherry for $100 a pop.
ReplyDeleteI am interested to see what your conclusion of your hypothesis are. From my limited experience, Springbank CS is awesome, and Longrow is awesome at any strength.
Over a year later, and this whisky can still be found around the U.S., average price now is $99, but at least one shop has it on sale for $80.
ReplyDeleteVery tempting. I was spoiled by the old 21 yo Springbank of the 1970s, which was $99 then. So it is hard for me to spend that kind of money on experiments of this sort. But for $80 I may just do it.
tsp, nyc
These days, $80 is a steal for a 14 year old single cask from Springbank. Prices have gotten pretty crazy, but I would gladly pay that kind of money to get to drink this one again. I missed getting a bottle at $56 and am still peeved about it.
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