Springbank 12 Claret Wood Whisky Review!

A red wine finished cask strength Springbank, with a pretty serious colour, bottled nearly 10 years ago. If memory serves this is actually one of the oldest Springbank bottlings (by bottling date) that I've tasted so far, which is very exciting!

This Springbank is - or rather was - part of the fleeting and much-celebrated old "Wood Finish" series of bottlings which has undergone a change in both concept (from cask finishing to full-term maturation) and packaging in the last couple of years. The contemporary bottlings, with their updated packaging and move to full maturation, were a 12-year old Burgundy cask matured, a 14-year old Bourbon cask matured, and the recent 15-year old Rum cask matured, which have all been very tasty. But this is one of the "old school" bottlings from the previous generation of releases, sporting the old hand-written-style brown labels and very basic packaging. Many of the more exotic cask finishings in this series were one-offs, and this is one of them: a 12-year old cask strength Springbank that was matured for nine years in refill ex-bourbon casks, and finished for three years in first-fill Claret red wine casks. Despite their traditional outward appearance and small production output, Springbank certainly aren't afraid of experimentation, and even in today's veritable ocean of cask finishings a red wine-finished Campbeltown malt is not something you see very often. That said, with only three distilleries in the town you'd have to expect that! It's always interesting to see how Springbank's dirty, funky, farmyard-y malt works with these exotic cask types, especially so for myself in this case since I'm generally not a fan of most non-fortified wines, particularly the red variety. Although the Burgundy cask-matured expression that I mentioned above was very delicious, and I'm a huge Springbank fan, so there's no real danger here!

What is undeniably traditional with this distillery is their production methods, since this is one of the very few distilleries in Scotland, and indeed the world, where every step of the process - sans the growing of the barley itself - happens on site. From floor-malting 100% of their barley requirements, to milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, maturing and bottling, it all happens on the distillery grounds. Some of that floor-malted barley also goes fifty metres down the road to Campbeltown's third distillery, Glengyle, to produce their Kilkerran single malts. Both distilleries are privately owned, along with independent bottler Cadenhead's, by J&A Mitchell & Company. Being a Springbank single malt, this is the lightly peated (12-15 ppm) and 2.5-times distilled spirit from the distillery, as opposed to the un-peated and triple-distilled Hazelburn, and the heavily peated (50-55 ppm) and double-distilled Longrow. That 2.5-times distillation, in very basic terms, is derived from a portion of the low wines (the result of the first distillation) being distilled three times, while the remainder is only distilled twice before being directed to the spirit receiver. Springbank spirit makes up around 80% of the distillery's total production each year, with Hazelburn & Longrow spirits halving the remaining 20% between them. When you consider the distillery's total annual production capacity of just 750,000 litres of spirit (with actual production being under that), it certainly helps to remind you just how small this operation is, and how little Hazelburn and Longrow is actually out there!

One interesting thing here is that Claret isn't actually its own wine variety. It's a generic (largely-British) term for the red wines either coming from, or simply made in the style of, the Bordeaux region of south-western France. So these casks could have held any of the main grape varieties used in the region, most likely Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc, or a blend of different grapes, or they've simply held wine that was similar in style to those varieties. Either way they've definitely had a big effect on this single malt, both in colour and flavour! This Claret Wood Springbank was distilled in May 1997 and bottled back in February 2010, at a cask strength of 54.4% ABV, with an out-turn of 9,360 bottles. Naturally it's non-chill filtered and naturally coloured, as is the case with everything the distillery produces. Since this is not an easy whisky to find these days, being bottled a decade ago, the sample for this review came from a swap with a fellow whisky nerd. Let's do this!

Springbank Claret Wood, 12-year old, 54.4%. Campbeltown, Scotland.
Distilled 5/97, matured for nine years in refill ex-bourbon casks, finished for three years in first-fill Claret (Bordeaux) red wine casks, bottled 2/2010. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, 9,360 bottles.

Colour: Very dark amber, with rust-red tinges.

Nose: Sweet, musty & grape-y. Red apple skins, nutmeg and cinnamon, with sweet spearmint around the edges. Oily wood polish, musty dark grapes, and a little muddy peat. Some sweet stone fruit in syrup and some soft old leather further in. 

Texture: Medium-heavy weight, quite thick and reasonably oily. Some heat to it.

Taste: Not nearly as sweet as the nose suggested. More musty red grapes, a little hot ash, and a welcome dose of the Springbank "funk" dunnage warehouse note. Muddy peat again, and a pinch of chilli salt. The apple skins, wood spices and stone fruit are there too, but they've receded. A touch of chocolate mousse in the background too.

Finish: Long length. More wood spice, chilli salt and leather. The stone fruit follows through, but it's not sweet here, while the grapes are there too but they're in the background now. Leather, more wood spice and a few old cherries winding up.

Score: 3.5 out of 5.

Notes: Very tasty, and a bit of an outlier for Springbank - I can't say I've ever tasted one like it, and that includes the 12-year old Burgundy release from a few years ago. In fact aside from the trademark dunnage 'funk' and muddy peat notes I don't think I'd pick it as a Springbank at all. Although the empty glass does tell a different story - as is often the case. None of that is a negative though, it's just a different style compared to what I'd expected. Which is the name of the game, after all. There's still plenty of flavour and plenty of character on offer, but given the choice, I think I'd be reaching for the 'regular' 12-year old Cask Strength over this one. There's just more Springbank and Campbeltown DNA on show there, regardless of the batch number.

Still, this Claret Wood finish is (or was) a great opportunity to see a different style of Springbank to what we may expect. And thankfully the wine cask influence wasn't too intrusive. Springbank are never one to rest on their laurels, and whiskies like this just keep proving that point.

Cheers!

Talisker 8 Year Old Whisky Review!

This would have to be the highlight of the 2018 Special Releases from Diageo. Especially when you factor in the affordable pricing and excellent value for money.

A cask strength Talisker is not something you see everyday, even among independent bottlings - which are also quite rare. Rarer again is a cask strength official bottling with an age statement, and one that tells you the specific type of cask/s that it was matured in. Yes, there's the distillery's enjoyable 57 North expression, but that's a non-age statement malt that is not bottled at its full cask strength, and is artificially coloured, and doesn't mention what cask type/s it's matured in. In typical Diageo fashion (looking at you, Lagavulin 12-year old) this 8-year old Talisker doesn't specifically tell us that it is non-chill filtered and/or natural colour, but both looking at it and subsequently tasting it will quickly convince you that it has been spared these travesties. Talisker of course tends to be extensively chill filtered and even more extensively artificially coloured in almost all of its offical bottlings, which are usually bottled at 45.8% - even their 25-year old release, which was last bottled at cask strength back in 2010. Since it's no longer the only operational malt distillery on the Isle of Skye, having been joined by newcomer Torabhaig in late 2017, it's refreshing to see a naturally presented Talisker enjoying some time in the spotlight and joining the ranks of these highly-anticipated annual releases. In fact there's a 15-year old Talisker, again at natural cask strength, coming with the 2019 Special Releases that debuted recently in Europe. And if this 8-year old release is anything to go by, that'll be very sought after.

I first encountered this 8-year old Talisker during my pilgrimage to Scotland in 2018. I had seen quite a bit of fanfare on social media, along with very positive feedback, and in the lead-up to the trip I was beginning to worry that I had already missed out. It was a bit of a surprise release really, since this was the first Talisker to be included in the annual 'Special Releases' program since its inception back in 2001. Even more surprising was the age statement (something not always seen in the Special Releases), and the clearly stated "natural cask strength". Diageo aren't afraid of releasing younger whiskies with single-digit age statements these days, and they should be commended for it. Every now and then we all need reminding that older whisky is not better whisky, and in my opinion in many cases the opposite is more accurate. So when I was lucky enough to find one of the last bottles in stock (and I had to ask) at The Whisky Exchange in London, I didn't hesitate. I was then lucky enough to taste it a few days later at Edinburgh's excellent The Black Cat bar, and immediately knew that I should've brought two bottles, before reality set in and I realised that I still had a lot of distillery visits ahead of me. Thankfully Diageo Australia came through a few months ago and finally put some of this excellent single malt on the physical & digital shelves down under, and at roughly the same price that I had paid in London almost a year prior. For reference, that was around $125 AUD including the VAT but without the Australian customs charges and GST taken into account, while when imported officially it was generally retailing for $129 on the Australian shelves. An absolute bargain for a whisky of this calibre. Once again I didn't hesitate, and finally picked up that second bottle!

This medium-peated (to around 20 ppm) single malt from the Isle of Skye was distilled in 2009, aged for eight years in first-fill deep-charred American oak ex-bourbon casks, and was bottled in 2018 at a cask strength of 59.4%. I must admit that the deep-charred American oak maturation (but not the first-fill bit) did briefly concern me, because the remainder is reminiscent of both the very lacklustre Talisker Game of Thrones / House Greyjoy bottling and the travel retail-exclusive Dark Storm, which didn't blow my socks off. But I shouldn't have worried, because this 8-year old cask strength expression is on an entirely different level. The age of this whisky isn't as random as it may seem, by the way. It's actually a nod to the 8-year old Talisker that was a big part of the distillery's core range, and a precursor to the 10-year old in fact, that was around in the 1980s. But that one wasn't cask strength, and it was most likely chill filtered and artificially coloured. Rumour has it there were only 4,680 bottles released of this cask strength Talisker, which is a very small number in the worldwide scheme of things. A far smaller number made it to Australia of course, and they're all sold out - unless you want to pay secondary market prices, of course. Again, Diageo Australia need to be commended for setting such reasonable pricing on this whisky. Now I'm actually wishing I had bought a third bottle...

Talisker 8-Year old Cask Strength, 59.4%. Isle of Skye, Scotland.
2018 Special Releases. Distilled 2009, matured in first-fill deep-charred ex-bourbon barrels, bottled 2018. Non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. 4,680 bottles.

Colour: Lemon-y gold.

Nose: Lovely. Sweet, citrus-y, lightly medicinal plus plenty of Talisker salt & pepper. Loads of charred sweet lemon, warm sand, vanilla custard ice cream and ground black pepper. There's also smoked salty bacon, chopped green chilli, almonds and a little grilled apricot.

Texture: Medium-weight, peppery, sweet and full-flavoured. Very little heat for nearly 60% at 8-years.

Taste: Also lovely. Loads of ground black pepper and a little table salt, more charred lemon & freshly chopped green chilli. A little briny musty-ness, more smoked bacon, plus some sweet oak and a hint of salted vanilla in the background.

Finish: Long length. Brine, that muddy musty-ness again, and more black pepper & lemon zest. A little shellfish-like briny sweetness, and more fresh green chilli. More smoked bacon, some salted almonds, grilled peach & apricot, and more salt & pepper.

Score: 4.5 out of 5. Especially once you factor in pricing.

Notes: Yes, that's a high score, but this whisky deserves it, it's singing. Very, very good stuff. One of the best Taliskers I've ever tasted. Actually, make that the best Talisker that I've ever tasted. I'm sure there'll be many of you out there that have tasted the old cask strength 25-year olds or bottlings from decades ago that will argue with that, but for an obtainable and affordable contemporary Talisker I can't see this being beaten easily. A really lovely peppery, briny & dry dram that shows what this under-utilised distillery is really capable of. That pepper, brine and green chilli note is something that I find in the better Taliskers, and it's here in spades in this 8-year old. Plus there's an almost Campbeltown-like musty & dirty-briny character to this dram that works very well with the pepper, chilli & lemon. If only Talisker had more chances to shine like it does here! Especially at such an affordable price.

The flavour, the character and the value for money that this 8-year old has to offer make it a real contender for BFYB (Bang For Your Buck) whisky of the year - in 2019, that is. I'd have no qualms lining this one up against the legendary Springbank 12-year old, Lavagulin 12-year old and Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength - which is really saying something. And none of those were $129 AUD. Bravo Diageo, we need plenty more like this - please & thank you!

Cheers!