Call me Mr. Old Fashioned, I just subscribed to my local newspaper. I now have a bundle of paper news sitting on my front porch every morning. I simply grew tired of consuming news in the digital realm we find ourselves in. I noticed that I increasingly read more headlines than actual story content. After all, the digital age encourages speedy consumption in a hyper efficient way. I needed to slow down and relax, and I often go to the old school way of doings.
It’s now the hip thing to go old school. But is it always the right way to go? No so, my friends. The whisky industry is often self-fond of its old ways. Tradition is essential to not just the marketing, but sometimes the whisky process. Nowadays, the distillation process can be run by computers, with minimal staff. It’s not romantic, doesn’t make for a heartwarming marketing flyer, but folks, it’s just fine. Making a process more efficient can also make it more consistent, the most important value in long term whisky making. So does my heart grow full and warm when a distillery like Springbank performs the entire whisky making process on site, from malting to peating to distilling? Not really. At least not as much as it used to. These days I’m just a guy who goes to a store, picks up a bottle and expects it to taste nice. Call me Old Fashioned. On to some particulars for one such old fashioned bottle, Springbank 15.
As previously mentioned, the entire distillation is done on site and not farmed out to multiple players. Springbank 15 is bottled non-chill filtered at 46% ABV and is comprised of ex sherry and ex bourbon refill casks. Once a mighty metropolis of whisky production, Springbank hails from the now quiet hamlet of Campbeltown, a Lowland whisky region. Now onto an old fashioned SWC Review…
SWC Review
Nose- Light peat. Brown sugar, fruits of pear and raisin. Orange peel , heathery, nutty.
Taste- Fruity, a bit earthy, oily. Nice.
Finish- Some heat, smoked fruit, then drying. Fades to bitter tannin. Long.
Comment- Decent balance, decent complexity. Far from perfect but good enough for a repeat tasting.
Rating- 83/100
*Tasted blind.
Comments? Let us know in the comment section below and then bugger off.
Spokane Whiskey Club 
I’d score this one a few points higher, but I hear there can be quite a bit of batch variation – not surprising given the production methods. I really like the whole Springbank approach, but the price/value ratio is off due to crazy demand for anything Springbank. I’ll blame Ralfy!
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As long as Ralfy is still mixing it up in the industry, I’m happy. Personally, the Springbank family of whiskies are among my favorites, flavor wise. They hit all the spots for me. That said, I cannot keep a regular bottle on my shelf due to price, as you allude to. Just every now and then.
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