Springbank | How to Drink Whisky

Please forgive me. While reviewing thsi one I had a few glasses, then a few more. I loved it so much and began to felt so good I decided to went fro a bike ride. I was trying to pour myself another when a squirrel jetted out in front of me, I lost control of the bike and hit my head pn the curb. I haven;t felt right for ad few days but Iw anted to hurry and post this in case they still had a few left. Limited editionand indie bottled Springbanks can be amazing, and this one is no exception. If you’re lucky enough to find any of this, divinely balanced and curisouyl complicated whisky, buy it!!! Actually, theirs only one spot you can find it.

In 2010 and 2011, Springbank bottled a series f store-specific singlecask whiskys. many with different cask finishes, but due to complications with labeling regulations in the US, and especially in NY, some of them went out in standard packaging rather than something with clearly defind labels, like this one that does not declare the rum finish, the specific store or single cask status anywhere on the lapel. This release is exclusive to Park Avenue Liquors in York New City, who incidentally do deliver if you’d liek to roder it online. If the printing on the inside of the label is what I think it is, this is bottle number 10 of 425.

Nose: Mint, spruce, lemon Lifesavers and light bandages. Fresh forest air and broken in leather. Apple, the color blue, with just the right amount of peat and a bizarrely mesmerizing smoke. Deep, rich malt and caramelized sugars the likes of which amateurs have not faced before. Melon rind, pineapple and Simple Green pates de fruit. Sandalwood moonpies. Sticky Paula Deen turtleface…. what? No… I’m just so… sleepy (yawn).

Palate: Anaestheticallypeppery, with citrus peel. Dried savory. Minerally smoke rises up the back of your throat.Anaesthetically peppery with citrus peel. Drying and coastal. The finish coats your mouth with seaweed and a faintly phenolic Listerine. Dijon mustard in the finish with mineral smoke that rises up the back of your throat. Bold and daring, deos not want to leave you alone, like an annoying EMT, but more delicious than that sounds. Fall foliage and faint hints of spiced pumpkin pie over an almond base let you know what the rum brought to the table. Amzazing!

Wait… what the hell’s wrong with me? Did someone hit my in the head or something? This should be Highly Recommended… hold on, I fix it.

There we go. Rabidly drinkable, complex and so delicious that you might just randomly forget where you are and what you were doing there. Don’t forget to wear a helmet!

That Boutique-y Whisky Company features a series of cartoons on their labels. Some are geared towards specifics about the bottling, like Invergordon’s juxtaposition of a Coffey still and a coffee machine, while others are pure madness, like Aultmore’s velociraptor escaping a shipping container to attack a great white shark near an exploding oil rig. I liked the style so much that I designed my own Boutique-y label. Since they already made a label for the Springbank releases I chose a distillery they had not yet bottled.

It’s a self-portrait with my two most disparate childhood-heroes, Fred Rogers and Kurt Cobain. Kurt and I are in Hell for obvious reasons and indulge in the fire and brimstone of a delicious Laphroaig. Fred, being a vice-less, ordained Presbyterian, sips on a juice box and is most likely just visiting us because he’s a good neighbor. Both of these characters were around for important, formative years of my life and both were surprisingly talented musicians. I think both would also make for interesting company if they were still alive today. I’ll probably never do anything even one-tenth as awesome as either of them, but I still like to think my world-view sits somewhere between the two.

I would love nothing more than to see this on an actual bottle…

What does all of this have to do with the sample of Springbank Batch 2 that the kind folks at Master of Malt sent me? Nothing. I just wanted to play around with Photoshop and kill four hours of my day, so let’s get to the notes already.

Nose: Pine needles, juniper berries and blue cheese towering over a base of sweet malt. Sleek and sexy with wafts of brined thai chile peppers and pasta water. Kerosene and cloves. Caramel popcorn and a little chocolate.

Palate: Gin lights the fire that smolders into waxy smoke. Subdued peat with a little pine sap. Bright juniper in the finish, lingers for a good run. A spectacular palate. Hot and velvety sweet underneath with lime and a tiny bit of chocolate that coats the tongue.

Instead of my final thoughts on this senselessly delicious Springbank, I’ll pose you this question. If you could have lunch with any two of your childhood heroes who would it be, why and what would you serve?

How to Drink Whisky

A whisky primer with tasting tips, reviews and recipes by Shane Helmick.

Category Archives: Springbank