Price: £60
Purchased From: Robertsons of Pitlochry
ABV: 46%
This is the 2024 version of Springbank 10-year-old and of course being Springbank it’s non-chill filtered and natural colour. Almost all of my Springbank purchases have come from the UK. If you’re willing to hunt you can usually find some of their entry level releases in some whisky shops for reasonable prices.
I purchased this bottle when I was last over in Scotland in 2024 at one of my favourite bottle shops, Robertsons of Pitlochry. Ewan is a pleasure to speak to and is always happy to help, or in my case let you browse for far too long. If you’re ever in Scotland and near Pitlochry, it’s well worth a visit. It’s also the second time I’ve found hard-to-find bottles here at a reasonable price.
Nose
Opens up with that trademark Springbank funk and gentle smoke, a damp beach, olive oil, leather and stone fruits.
Taste
Earthy, salty and viscous. Lemon peel, more stone fruits, salted caramel, ginger. The finish is sweeter: peach, pineapple, barley sugar. The depth of flavour is amazing and one of the reasons Springbank is loved so much.
Conclusion
Balance and complexity that Springbank is known for. It’s not the kind of dram you pour for your friends who enjoy the occasional whisky, but there’s a reason we enthusiasts love it. It’s becoming increasingly expensive and hard to find, but when you can it’s a joy. Scoring Springbank is difficult because almost everything they bottle is fantastic (I’m sure sometime, somewhere there was bound to be a bad bottle). You almost need to score it partially compared to other Springbanks while being fair to the thousands of other great bottles of whisky out there.