Did You Get to Choose A Single Cask Springbank to be Bottled for Your 18th Birthday?

Potstill is Vienna’s premier whisky shop, and to celebrate owner Mario Prinz’s daughter Briana’s 18th birthday the shop bottled a single barrel bottling of a lovely 17 year old Springbank which Briana herself chose. The bottle was distilled in her birth year and bottled before her birthday from a refill sherry cask.

The Potstill Store in Vienna
Photo Credit: Briana Pfaffel

This isn’t a very typical Springbank. It’s very salty and the sherry is very dry. You’ll identify the Springbank nose on it, but just as easily this could have been a nice Old Pulteney. I was told by Mario that there are two more ‘Briana’s Choice’ bottlings coming up: An Islay vatted malt from three distilleries that was presented at the Vienna Whisky Fair in March and an Arran Blaufränkisch finish.  Blaufränkisch is an Austrian red wine, and I hope I get the opportunity to review that expression.

Photo Credit: Mario Prinz

Springbank 17 Year Old Bottled for Potstill Austria – Briana’s Choice, Cask 13/306, Distilled October 1996, Bottled July 2014, 149 Bottles (56.0% ABV, NCF, NC)

Appearance: Amber, very slow legs form from a ring.

Nose: Perfumy and salty nose, rather delicate. Dry sherry, dried fruit, lightest hint of smoke, dusty cinnamon and light clove. Water brings out milk chocolate with a maraschino cherry, leather and tobacco.

Palate: Very strong alcohol, some smoothness, very mouth drying and dried apricot. Water brings out hazelnut, leather, light black pepper and wood spices with quite a bit of salt.

Linger: Medium, some leather, light sweetness, notes of peat, dryness all over the mouth and all the way down the gullet with a lot of brine.

Conclusion

Different, stunning dram that you could almost mistake for an Old Pulteney. If you have friends in Austria, this would be a great dram to swap a sample for next time you send out a package….

Manny, you hit the nail on the head yet again! Prost!