SPRINGBANK 15 YEAR
Bottled 15 September 2022MASH BILL – 100% malted barley
PROOF – 92
AGE – 15 years
DISTILLERY – J. & A. Mitchell & Co.
PRICE – Free! (normally ~$175)
WORTH BUYING? – Had I bought it, no. But I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to try it.
Tasted in The Year of No Buying (The what? 🔗 here.)
I’m grateful I lucked into this open bottle of Springbank 15, which I was able to take home from an event. I’ll say up front, it is excellent. But even at msrp I’d also say it’s just too expensive.
My claim begs the question, “too expensive” for what? Based on what criteria? And if it’s excellent, well then why not $$$, right?
My response to this whiskey’s younger cousin, the Springbank 10, was that it’s perfect. And the question there is similar: “perfect” meaning what? Based on what criteria?
As I write this I’m almost finished with my bottle of the 10 Year and I still find it perfect. It has made zero mistakes from uncorking to its last dregs. This perfection makes it utterly satisfying in the moment, and unmemorable. Nothing sticks out. There are no bumps in the road, no twists in the journey. It’s great neat on a sunny or cloudy day. It goes great in a Blood & Sand cocktail. It’s great. Just not memorable. So if being memorable is something on one’s list of criteria for “perfection,” Springbank 10 Year falls short in my estimation. Otherwise I can’t find fault with it.
And so when I first reached for this Springbank 15, my expectation was that it would be some variation on this same odd achievement of impressive and forgettable. Did it meet that expectation?
Here we are, one and a half weeks after uncorking and nearing halfway through the bottle—most of which wasn’t had by me, this being a leftover from an event. Today’s pour is my third. These brief notes were taken using a traditional Glencairn.
COLOR – a soft orange-amber with subtle flickers of fiery orange
NOSE – salty ocean water and air, plump golden raisins, grapefruit and lemon peels, a faint whiff of smoke and even fainter peat, faint milk chocolate and creamy custard
TASTE – salty, beach campfire smoky, now the peat wafts forward a bit more, also the raisins are joined by papaya and grilled pineapple, more milk chocolate, some creamy custard, a bit of salted caramel
FINISH – a soft warmth lingers with gentle wood and sherry tannins, an earthy cement, faint papaya and peaty smoke…
OVERALL – balanced like a spinning top: steadily shifting around the same patterns, and you wonder how long it’s going to go even though you know the eventual outcome.
This 15 Year wobbles a bit as compared to my sense memory of the 10 Year. The 100% sherry cask maturation makes itself known without spilling over into a “sherry bomb.” It has strength, presence, and reserve. But the sherry tannins do combine with the saltiness to create a bitter edge that hedges a bit too close to unpleasant for me. It’s not crossing the line. But it’s right up on it.
I’m very aware of the saltiness. That seems to be the backbone of this flavor profile, at least at this tasting. Unsurprisingly, it pairs very well with the smoke and peat. And I enjoy how the smoke actually leans forward more than the peat itself.
But the salt and sherry combo here feels slightly ajar, slightly out of alignment. This is the wobble in the spinning top.
I couldn’t resist comparing it to the 10 Year, of course. They share the same 46% ABV. In addition to a 5-year age difference, the 15 Year is aged in 100% sherry casks while the 10 Year blends 40% sherry casks with 60% bourbon casks.
Their colors are immediately distinct, with the sherry and additional years showing themselves clearly in the 15 Year.
Nosing them side by side, the 10 Year is more reserved, eventually showing its creamy caramel side in contrast to the 15 Year’s edgier tannic aspects. Now a slight sulfur note is becoming apparent in the 15 Year, whether due to how long it’s been airing in the glass or the 10 Year’s lower sherry cask quotient pointing up the 100% sherry casked 15 Year. Both show the salt and papaya notes readily, though the sulfur in the 15 Year obscures the fruit just a bit.
Tasting them, the 10 Year is lighter, brighter, creamier, with more caramel and quite pronounced fruit, the smoke and peat wafting around it like incense in a fluttering breeze. By comparison, the 15 Year comes across darker, chocolatey rather than caramely, the fruit notes richer and redder and now with the sulfuric edge, like high-end dried plums.
I dare say I might prefer the 10 Year. Despite its reserved nose, on the taste it really loosens up and shares what it has to offer. The 15 Year seems more content to hang back a bit, which has a dulling effect despite the rich qualities to various of the flavors and aromas. There’s also the edgy tannic and sulfur notes in the 15 Year, which, alongside the strong saltiness, aren’t quite in balance. And of course the asking price of each bottle is quite different. If I enjoy the 10 Year as much as I do, why pay more for the slightly wobbly 15 Year?
Springbank 15 Year is a high quality whisky. No doubts there. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it achieves “perfection.” And for the price I’d prefer it get much closer to that descriptor. The 10 Year, on the other hand, remains “perfect” in my estimation—albeit in that curious way whereby it pleases in the moment and soon fades from memory when the moment has passed.
The journey continues.
Sláinte!
The Right Spirit 