Springbank 10 years old Campbeltown single malt: review and tasting notes

The Campbeltown 10 Years old Springbank Single Malt is a very sumptuous, rich, round Scotch whiskey, with delicious notes of sweet spices, memories of the sea and a very slight trace of peat.

Let’s say you are looking for an elegant Scotch whiskey, rigorous in aromatic terms, but with little, very little peat, but a lot of character, then you have found it.

As soon as it is uncorked, it is woody, full of cinnamon, with ripe and enveloping fruit, however, it needs a few days to find its balance and then you will feel that it relaxes, the wood is less oppressive and splendid floral notes emerge, the fruitiness expands and gives a glimpse of a windswept Scottish coastline and waves.

But be careful, the taste is soft, it is powerful and decisive and vigorous, but the sweetness of the fruit, where the cereal is intertwined with notes of caramelized pears and peaches, has been expertly studied to caress the palate.

The spicy and mentholated touches that punctuate the sip are beautiful. Splendid breaths of freshness that know how to keep the drink always lively, never smug or redundant in its chanting sweetness.

What we liked is the composure, the sweetness dominates, but it is not a make-up trick, and coincidentally, we discover that this 10-year-old Springbank is the result of a careful blend of whiskeys aged both in used sherry barrels and in Oak barrels. And the experiment was perfectly successful.

Certainly, it is not as aggressive as the Ardbeg, but it is also not a pimp like the Macallan Amber, good, but too marked by the aging in wood. Because you say what you want, but now the most incisive ingredient in the production of whiskeys is precisely what you don’t drink, that is, the wood of the barrels that shapes our beloved malt distillate and traces its features.

But after all, we could only expect a great whiskey from the Springbank distillery, one of our favorites and you know why?

Because the same family has been producing for 200 years, today there are the heirs of an illegal distiller Archibald Mitchell, but above all, because every single step is done in the distillery, the water is always the same, every gesture, every ingredient is touched only. by Springbank employees. This is a whiskey that bears witness to a territory and therefore we can speak of 100% terroir. And the terroir is that of Campbeltown, the ancient world capital of whiskey, located in the southwest of Scotland, overlooking Ireland. Then you may like the products or not, but this does not mean that the commitment and care of this distillery are commendable.

But let’s move on to the organoleptic characteristics of this Scotch.

The bouquet

The nose is splendid, a pendulum that passes from hazelnuts and plums cooked with mint, chocolate and cinnamon, with bursts of wood, iodine and traces of pine and orange peel. The persistence is fabulous, the elegance crisp, clean, and played on a subtle balance between dark and sunny notes, but everything declines with great aromatic cleanliness.

What does Springbank 10 years old Campbeltown taste like?

The mouth is rich in pulp and thickness, warm, spicy, with layers of flavor that alternate creating a sumptuous fresco. As mentioned before, the liveliness is remarkable, it never pleases, but flows driven by mint, salt and spicy flavors. The thickness of the sip is undoubted, it is a whiskey of great value, which does not however want to be a slave to an aesthetic style that is too unique. Campbeltown Scottish terroir.

Price

52 euros for a bottle with a unique taste, made with great love. To buy with your eyes closed.

Food pairings

Chocolate, spoon desserts, trifle, carrot cake, but also bbq cooked meat, smoked ribs with bbq sauce, salmon with teriyaki sauce, chocolate salami.