The 2022 edition of Springbank 18 Year Old, bottled in July 2022 at 46% ABV. This year the vatting tilted towards bourbon wood, with 65% ex-bourbon and 35% ex-sherry casks.
About This Whisky
The cask mix for the 18 changes each year, and 2022 was a lighter-leaning year than 2021. With 65% ex-bourbon casks, the spirit and the vanilla side of American oak come forward, while 35% ex-sherry wood adds raisin, fruit cake and caramel. Reviewers found it slow to open, darker and more subtle than expected, with cola, cocoa and soft peat.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Sherry leads with prune, raisin and candied peel over caramel and spice; with air come old books, polished wood and gentle smoke.
- Palate: Sponge cake, almond paste and ginger biscuit, honey, cola and cocoa, with a light earthy funk.
- Finish: Fairly long and woody, with sweet spice, a trace of aniseed and soft peat smoke.
Serving & Food
Open the bottle and give it time; it improves with air over several weeks. Serve unchilled in a copita, neat or with the smallest splash of water. Gingerbread, braised pork belly, or a board of hard cheeses and dried figs are natural partners.
How to Enjoy
A thoughtful gift for a Springbank drinker, and for quiet evenings with a well-aged Campbeltown malt.
Product Details
Producer / Distillery: Springbank
Country: Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Category: Single malt Scotch whisky
Age: 18 years old
Release: 2022 edition
Bottled: July 2022
Cask: 65% ex-bourbon, 35% ex-sherry
ABV: 46%
Proof: 92
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Springbank keeps its casks in dark, damp warehouses in the town, which the distillery credits for much of its flavour along with the cask choice and the peninsula climate. Some whisky stays there a very long time. In 1970 Springbank bottled a 50-year-old distilled in 1919, and in 2013 one of those bottles sold for £50,000. Space is precious. In 2008, with stocks rising and costs climbing, the distillery paused production for six months so new warehousing could be built, starting again in 2009. Everything is bottled on site too, with no chill filtration and no added colour.