Springbank 15 Rum Wood Whisky Review!

A 15-year old Springbank that was fully matured in rum casks? Gimme gimme!

Following on from the delicious Springbank 14-year old Bourbon Wood that was released in late 2017 (reviewed here), there's a new arrival in the 'wood' range from this undeniably old-school Campbeltown distillery. There are a few differences, aside from the cask type of course, between these two bottlings. While the Bourbon Wood was fully matured in both first-fill and refill ex-bourbon barrels, this Rum Wood expression only states that it was matured in rum barrels, which means they were probably first-fill, since Springbank aren't afraid to declare if a cask was refill. The big difference though is that the Rum Wood does not seem to have been bottled at cask strength, weighing in at 51.0% ABV, while the Bourbon Wood was cask strength at 55.8%. That said, this is one very exciting malt. It was only released in August this year, so it won't be in Australia until early 2020, but I was lucky enough to trade samples with a fellow whisky geek who ordered a bottle direct from the UK. As I mentioned in that Bourbon Wood review linked above, these bottlings are a continuation of the "wood finish" range from this small Campbeltown distillery, but they've had a face-lift to bring them into line with the current Springbank packaging. This range has previously included some very exotic cask types such as Calvados (apple brandy) and Gaja Barolo (Spanish red wine) casks, among many others. So it'll be very interesting to see what comes along in future, but personally this rum cask-matured example is extremely exciting, and I've been looking forward to trying it since pictures first started appearing on social media.

Why am I so excited for this release? Well, for three reasons really. Firstly, because rum cask maturation & finishing is becoming more popular in single malts, and it seems to work! Most of the examples that I've tasted to date have been very good. Secondly, because despite having one of the most diverse ranges of exotic cask maturation & finishing, this is a first for Springbank. While they've released rum cask finished whiskies before, and there have been a few of the mysterious and elusive "cage bottlings" that were matured in rum casks, this is a standard albeit limited release that was 100% fully-matured in rum casks, and this is the first time they've done such a thing. And thirdly, because I've been lucky enough to taste one of those aforementioned Springbank cage bottlings that was matured in a second-fill rum cask, and it was completely and utterly brilliant. The dirty, funky Campbeltown spirit mixed with the funky brown sugar & tropical fruit from the rum cask created a truly brilliant whisky experience. So I have high hopes for this one! Actually, hold on, let's add a fourth reason, which is simply because I'm a huge Springbank fan, and I can't get enough of their whisky. Now you may notice that they haven't specified the type of rum casks used, or where they came from. That could be down to a few different reasons. There a may have been a mix of different casks of different origins in the vatting, or the supplier of the casks may not want those details made public, or finally that they simply don't know any specifics, other than the fact that they were rum casks. Personally I'm betting it's a mix of reason one and reason three. This situation is nothing new though, many rum cask-finished or -matured whiskies do not state which type of rum those casks previously held, or where they came from, most likely for one or more of those same three reasons.

Springbank Distillery produces three different single malts under the one roof. They are the un-peated and triple-distilled Hazelburn, and the heavily-peated (to 50-55 ppm, but don't expect an Islay-type experience) and double-distilled Longrow, and finally the namesake Springbank malt, that is distilled 2.5-times, and distilled from lightly-peated malt (peated to 15 ppm) - all of which happens at the distillery, aside from the growing of the barley itself. From malting, to milling, to mashing, fermenting and distilling, maturation and bottling, it all happens in this seemingly eclectic group of old stone buildings hidden in the middle of Campbeltown centre. Hazelburn and Longrow spirits each make up 10% of the distillery's production, with the namesake Springbank taking up the remaining 80% - and with an annual production capacity of just 750,000 litres, there really isn't that much of this precious liquid to go around. So when they manage to release 9,000 bottles of a limited bottling like this, it tends to sell out very quickly around the world. As mentioned, this whisky hasn't landed in Australia yet and from all reports it isn't expected until early 2020 (boo!), but it's essentially completely sold out in Britain and Europe already. So when it does land down under, don't expect it to last very long! So, a 15-year old Springbank that was fully matured in rum casks, before being bottled at 51.0% ABV. Being a product of Springbank Distillery of course means that it is non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. Very exciting, so let's get to it!

Springbank 15 Year Old Rum Wood, 51.0%. Campbeltown, Scotland.
Fully-matured in un-named rum casks, presumably first-fill. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 9,000 bottles.

Colour: Gold.

Nose: Surprisingly mild to start with, white some white pepper, sweet cream cheese, a little flint and a light ashy & cold smoke. With time & warmth it becomes more typically Springbank, but none of those notes go away. The farmyard & dunnage warehouse "funk" is there, but it's definitely a milder version than usual, they're not in the forefront. There's also some red apple, menthol, and a brown sugar caramel.

Texture: Medium weight. Very oily, sweet and lightly funky. No spirit-y heat at all. 

Taste: Sweet and surprisingly light again, but it's still a Springbank. More red apple and sweet cream cheese. White pepper and cold ashy smoke again, and some rum funk shows itself - tropical fruit, old olive oil, dry grass, a little leather and flinty menthol. The earthy & funky dunnage notes are there, but they're a supporting act in this dram.

Finish: Medium length. More white pepper & sweet cream cheese, a little vanilla pod, more grassy & flinty notes. Then more ashy cold smoke, a little dry wood and more of that brown sugar caramel.

Score: 3.5 out of 5.

Notes: Ah, Springbank. Is there anything they can't do? It's not as funky or dirty as I expected, but it's a very tasty whisky! While it's a lighter & sweeter style of Springbank, the typical funk is still there, although it's more subdued and in the background than you might expect from this Campbeltown staple. It's extremely well balanced too, nothing is dominant or overwhelming, and it's extremely easy drinking at 51% ABV - could this be a summer's day Springbank? I think so, and I'll gladly volunteer to test that hypothesis. As with everything that Springbank touch there's plenty of character here, and it's a nice new side to the distillery, with a lighter, more balanced and almost refreshing experience compared to the darker, dirtier and funkier examples like the 12 Cask Strength.

I'm thinking that cage bottling set me up with the wrong expectations here, because on it's own merit this is a seriously tasty whisky. The nature of those cage bottlings is that they're a one-off, and they're completely unique, so I should've known better. This Rum Wood expression should definitely be on your radar, and I can't wait for it to finally turn up in Australia.

Cheers!

Ledaig Oloroso Cask 2004 Whisky Review!

A distillery-exclusive cask sample, to be exact!

This nondescript little 200ml bottle was a must-buy on my second pilgrimage to Scotland, which included a trip to the Isle of Mull and of course it's only distillery, Tobermory. After nosing and tasting this one I couldn't leave without it, but I should've bought a dozen. Not that I had the luggage space or weight allowance to do so, of course, but you get my point! I've previously reviewed the second cask sample that they had for sale at the time, a red wine cask-matured Tobermory, here, and it was brilliant as well, although completely different in character of course. It was very fruity, sweet and high strength at 62%, while this Ledaig is more mellow, but deeper and darker in character. The distillery was in the midst of it's two-year production shutdown at the time of our visit, which involved a lot of major maintenance, including replacing two of the stills and four of their wooden washbacks. In fact the distillery only resumed production earlier this year, and they're still planning to replace their other two stills - this time without shutting down completely. While it's never quite the same to visit a distillery during what they call "silent season" when they aren't producing spirit, Tobermory were still open for tours and tastings, so not all was lost and it was definitely worth the half-hour ferry trip from Oban. In fact the island and the namesake town of Tobermory, complete with it's famous multi-coloured houses around the harbour, were well worth the trip on their own, even without the resident distillery taken into account!

Tobermory Distillery is in the area of the town previously-named Ledaig (pronounced "Le-Chayg" or "Le-Chig"), and the distillery originally bore the same name from 1798 (although it wasn't officially licensed until 1823) all the way through to 1979, when it was re-named Tobermory. It's not quite that simple though, because this distillery has been through some very rough patches in it's 220-year history. In fact it has been shut down / mothballed for almost half of it's life! It first closed in 1837, not even 40 years after being founded and only 14 after being licensed, and was closed for a whopping 41 years. It was then purchased by DCL, a precursor of today's Diageo, in 1916, who then also closed it down for another 40 year period in 1930, before being purchased by a shipping conglomerate in 1972 who went bankrupt three years later. The distillery was then purchased by a property group who re-opened it under the name Tobermory, but that only lasted three years, subsequently closing again for another 11 years and resulting in the distillery warehouses being converted into apartments. You certainly would not have wanted to be a distillery employee during those times! Thankfully Burn Stewart purchased the distillery in 1993, giving some much-needed stability, and since the purchase of that company by South African corporation Distell in 2013 it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. In fact Distell seem to be heavily investing in their three Scotch whisky distilleries (Deanston & Bunnahabhain being the others) with major repair, maintenance and general face-lifting work underway. Which in Bunnahabhain's case was very sorely needed!

The distillery re-vitalised the Ledaig name in 2007, giving the moniker to their peated spirit, while the un-peated brand remained Tobermory. If you were to look at all of that tumultuous history you could be forgiven for assuming that the distillery wasn't anything special, but that's certainly not the case. In fact if you ask me it's one of the best examples of an Island single malt with a nice coastal influence and weighty, almost "funky" & dirty spirit character, particularly in the case of the peated malts. Ledaig is peated to around 35 ppm on the malted barley, sourced from commercial maltings on the mainland, and is a worthy competitor for the peated malts coming from Islay. This particular Ledaig is a cask strength cask sample that has been fully-matured in a single first-fill Oloroso sherry cask for 14 years, before being bottled at 53.4% in late 2018. None of the single malts from Tobermory are chill filtered or artificially coloured, and this is no exception - great stuff! The Ledaig spirit seems to work very well with sherry casks, including the 18-year old official bottling (reviewed here) which is finished in Oloroso casks, and the best example that I've tasted to date would be this 10-year old cask strength single cask from Signatory Vintage. So let's see if this cask sample from the distillery can beat it!

Ledaig 2004 Oloroso cask, 53.4%. Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland.
Distillery exclusive 200ml hand-filled cask sample, fully-matured in a single Oloroso sherry cask, bottled late 2018. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Dark amber.

Nose: Dirty, funky Ledaig yummy-ness. Deep, muddy, damp peat, lanolin (sheepswool oil / grease), rum & raisin ice cream, engine oil & dirty old bearing grease - or even saw-blade oil-based coolant. Then lovely "rancio" (nutty, leathery, fermented / cured salami) old sherry. A nutty & crumbly vintage cheddar. Sweet & spicy cured pork and dusty, damp old wood - like a dirty old barnyard. Some dried raspberry & dark chocolate. Yes please!

Texture: Beautiful. Medium weight, ashy, dirty & muddy. No spirit-y heat at all.

Taste: Dirty, spicy & ashy. More deep, muddy peat, a few dirty old seashells, and more dark chocolate. Dry ashy & spicy smoke, more lovely nutty "rancio" old sherry & cured pork, more crumbly vintage cheddar, more dried raspberry and some sweet date syrup with a touch of sea salt. Again, yes please!

Finish: Long. A little liquorice and ginger spice behind that ashy & spicy smoke, then more lanolin, more old wooden farm buildings and dirty old grease. That muddy peat and sweet raisins again, plus some orange peel and engine oil.

Score: 4 out of 5.

Notes: Delicious dram. It does slightly remind me of the standard Ledaig 18-year old, but with more sherry and loads more "funk". This is easily one of the dirtiest Ledaigs that I've had in quite some time! That lanolin and farmyard note is very enjoyable, although this would not be a whisky for the newcomer - you need to be fan of the dirtier, more characterful malts to appreciate something like this Ledaig. This malt really does give you an image of an old sheep farm on a damp Hebridean island - like the Isle of Mull, for example! It could possibly be confused with a similarly-aged Longrow, which is high praise, but it's a little deeper & darker, and it's very well balanced between the muddy peat, dirty & funky farmyard notes and that great old sherry cask. If you're a fan of this style of malt, line up something like this Ledaig alongside a sherry-matured cask strength Longrow and a sherry-matured cask strength Benromach. I guarantee you'll be in for one hell of a ride!

I do wish sherry-matured Ledaigs were easier to come by, especially when served at cask strength, because they can be utterly fantastic. This really is an under-rated peated single malt that easily stands up to the heavyweights from Islay and Campbeltown. Unfortunately this is now the last liquid souvenir that I have from our trip to Mull, and yes, I definitely think I should've bought a dozen...

Cheers!