Some upper echelon Springbank today. One official distillery release, the other from an independent bottler I hold in very high esteem. Both are 30 years old. I am of course talking about the 2025 edition of the Springbank 30 Years, as well as the Springbank 1994 30 Years from Decadent Drinks’ Whiskyland range.
I’ve always been a champion of small batch releases. You know, as opposed to single casks or huge vattings. The best single casks are great, but a few really good casks together can truly create magic. I believe that’s part of the reason why the former Cadenhead’s Small Batch series included many gems. (Still gutted it isn’t around anymore.)
Today’s whiskies kind of put that thesis to the test. It’s not an entirely level playing field, as the Whiskyland Springbank was bottled at cask strength. Also, the Springbank 30 Years is a vatting of 85% ex-bourbon casks and 15% ex-sherry casks, while the other fully matured in a refill sherry hogshead. Still, the official release combines casks for an outturn of 1900 bottles. Very much a small batch release in my book. At the other end is a Springbank of a similar age, but from a single cask resulting in just 247 bottles.
Okay, I’ll admit that feels contrived. In reality, I just felt like tasting two properly old Springbank and needed a few paragraphs to introduce both bottlings. This is what I came up with. They can’t all be winners. (But to be clear, I actually do believe what I said about small batch releases.)
Springbank 30 Years (46%, OB, 2025)
Nose: Always nice to experience Springbank at this age. Mellow, mature and multi-layered. Very waxy with faint fennel notes, accompanied by hints of apricots, quince jelly, mead and acacia honey. There’s a touch of mud and clay alongside other mineral notes and amicable, nurturing note of peat smoke in the distance.
Taste: Such a waxy first impression. Sweet, honey-esque with tangerines, oranges and Meyer lemons. Some faint coastal and mineral notes in the distance, with just a touch of eucalyptus as well. There’s a whiff of shoe polish and cigar boxes, as well as an elegant, but dry peat smoke.
Finish: Medium length. A pinch of pepper, some salted caramel and toffee. Slightly dry at times.
Springbank 1994 30 Years (48.8%, Decadent Drinks ‘Whiskyland’, Chapter Seven)
Nose: Immediately such an old school feel. Rich and luscious with notes of red berries, beeswax and earthy smoke in the background, but also touches of tobacco leaves and polished oak. Then some Medjool dates and damp oak, as well as wet forest floor, dunnage notes and some distant fennel notes. Just beyond delicious.
Taste: Hints of stewed berries, tobacco and and a pinch of pepper, but also orange peels and gentle peat notes. Certainly more tobacco and cigar boxes, as well as leather and salty fudge. The dunnage notes make an encore as well, and then just a hint of throat lozenges too.
Finish: Long. Aniseed-esque notes, but also definitely peppery and some lovely dry sherry notes.
Photo: Whiskybase
