Happy 185th Birthday Springbank

by Mark Davidson

All distilleries are unique but in true George Orwell style some are more unique than others. Springbank distillery in Campbeltown, Argyll can be singled out as having an embarrassment of riches any one of which another distiller would be proud to boast of.

Perhaps its single most attractive aspect is the fact that the company has the oldest original family owned distillery in Scotland. As Scottish whisky grew in popularity it could not avoid the attentions of big business. As a commodity whisky can offer handsome dividends to any investors, although any return may not be dramatically quick thanks to the time taken to mature stock. So it was that small family established businesses were bought out by, initially, home grown companies then eventually overseas predators. Where we are today is the curious position of having many of our most famous brands owned by large companies from abroad. These corporations often have interests not focused on just one category of beverage and may even deal in other totally unrelated industries. How refreshing it is then to have such a jewel still in independent Scottish hands. Amongst the very few stills held by private companies Springbank can point to their longevity, they were established in 1828, as testament to their reputation for quality and dependency.

Beyond this remarkable achievement the distillers lay claim to the most complete and traditional distillery in Scotland. Nowhere else will you see the whole production process taking place on one site. From the arrival of un-malted barley to the despatch of the bottled product all parts of the production process are controlled in-house. The retention of old fashioned methods must surely contribute to the well recognised complexity in their drams.

Of the near 100 malt distilleries in Scotland only 6 retain floor maltings. Of these only Springbank produces 100% of distilling requirements. The other 90-odd all rely on mechanised malting for their barley. Almost exclusively this part of the process is sub-contracted to specialists not connected with the distiller. The dependency on outsiders although not appealing to the Mitchells (Springbank’s owners) does not necessarily mean a compromise of quality. Indeed the consistency of a professional maltster solved problems associated with floor maltings where variables such as ambient temperature can affect results. The reason for the switch from tradition was really down to matters of scale and economy. As demand grew distilleries expanded and their appetite for grain out grew their capacity to feed themselves. Modern drum maltings were designed to the new scale required. Also as the manual option is so labour intensive, the malting barley must be turned regularly to prevent matting and to evenly spread the germinating heat, the costs of manning the floors became unattractive. Production at Springbank is indeed capped by their ability to supply enough malt and the distillery runs at a fraction of its potential output.

At the other end of production bottling may seem a rather mundane issue. Far from it. As a cask of mature whisky would typically be around 60% alcohol if the bottled dram was sold at this strength the price of a standard size bottle would be considerably higher than if it was diluted. Also an argument runs that this strength is too high to find the drink’s character and watering down is essential for proper appreciation. This is why 99.9…% of all whisky is bottled at the legal minimum strength of 40%abv. The question must be asked: what water was used during reduction? Many whisky labels will wax lyrical about the source of their production water being of ambrosial quality. How many allude to the neutral nature of the water added at the bottling stage? Again Springbank can be relied upon to treat their efforts appropriately. Alongside very few other malts Springbank sympathetically dilute their mature whisky with the water used to make it, keeping complete the influence from minerals to be found at source. All this at the superior 46% abv.

By now you should realise this company is more about substance than subcontracts. There hasn’t been enough space here to mention features like their warehousing, method of heating stills, distilling regime, condensing techniques and further bottling principles all of which deserve mention. A visit to their website, www.springbankwhisky.com, should further illuminate just how special this family inheritance is.

Mark Davidson…

Of a distinguished Banff 1968 vintage Mark Davidson has a short but full body and so marries well (& subsequently producing two limited editions), frequently seen at whisky fairs in Scotland yet curiously difficult to find outside his domestic market it is hoped his inaugural launch on the Canadian scene will be well received. He is at home in independant bottling circles being most commonly found in the William Cadenhead livery where he has enjoyed a 13 year finishing period, however as a stand alone single expression under the Jolly Toper brand he can come into his own while being a fine mixer.