Springbank whisky is good. That’s not news to anybody. What’s slightly more surprising is the plethora of “officially unofficial” bottlings Springbank puts out. This is one of the less known series put out by the distillery, and there have been three bottled so far: A 20 year old matured in a sherry pipe and finished in a fresh port hogshead bottled at cask strength of 49.5 ABV with 120 bottles available, an 18 year old sherry pipe matured and bottled at 52.1% with 140 bottles and our Fresh port hogshead at 44.5% with 120 bottles.
Photo Credit: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk
This seems to be a very particular series working off a specific sherry pipe that has been half bottled and half transferred to a fresh port hogshead, with the addition of another half hogshead from whisky already maturing in a fresh port hogshead.
Photo Credit: straight-whisky.at
Starkicker Springbank Fresh Port Hogshead, 13 Year Old, Distilled 2000, 120 Bottles (44.5% ABV, NCF, NC)
Appearance: Gold, long legs with a residual necklace.
Nose: Licorice and honey, with a hint of peat. There is some dirty green leaves and an earthy note.
Palate: Rich and full bodied, with a spicy sweetness (with pepper and star anise). It’s really a great sipper. Not that complex, but downright good.
Linger: Peaty and light honey, with a lingering sweetness. Linger is really long with the spice being very dominant.
Conclusion
Good dram, with a lovely long linger. Shame you can’t get this one any more. I would absolutely LOVE to taste the other two expressions in this series, they seem absolutely stunning!
Thank you Manny for sharing this portatious dram!
Is still available!