SPRINGBANK UPDATE
We are still awaiting a final release date for the new Springbank 17, 21 & 12 year old cask strength, as soon as they arrive we will feature them on the web shop front page. I am sure you will love the new 21 and 17, and the new 12 cask strength is a bit of a gem, one I am sure will be a fast mover.
TASTING ROOM UPDATE
The Tasting Room has become so busy we are booked out until May for most of the evening sessions, this includes extra dates we have been adding. We are reviewing the schedule with the view to increasing them from every Thursday to every Tuesday & Thursday from Mid May until further notice. We hope this helps the many 100s who have tried to book over the last month or so only to be told it’s a 3-4 month wait.
Distillery Profile No 2 – Springbank
When people research the history of whisky one distillery is always mentioned or acknowledged in some way, J&A Mitchell Springbank Distillery.
The distillery we see today was established in 1828 on the site of a distillery run by the Mitchell family as far back as the early to mid 1700s because like so many distilleries at that time it was operating illicitly few records survive just the family records and internal history thats passed down from one generation to another.
Springbank is the most complete and original of Scotland’s original distilleries, they still produce 100% on-site from Malting the Barley then distilling and maturing on site to the final process of bottling the matured spirit.
If you have ever visited the distillery then you will understand how unlike other distilleries Springbank is be it the number of staff working on site to the original equipment still in use from the 1800s. No gloss and shine at this small iconic distillery just honest old fashioned values allowed.
Springbank has the only 2.5 times distilled whisky made via reduction and a back and forth distilling process (Too complicated to explain here) After distilling the whisky is stored in Bourbon or Sherry casks that will be used a maximum of 3 times, the cask are stored in the No’3 Bond for part of the time the oldest earthen floor bonded warehouse in Scotland, cask are stacked 2 high to allow the resting spirit to breath and mature equally.
The bottling hall is built into the old Longrow Distillery that operated like 32 others in Campbeltown from the 1800s until prohibition in the USA took its toll on the once whisky capital of the world Springbank was the only distillery to survive the downturn because unlike the others it did not rush to what was then the worlds fastest growing economy the USA that like all others had a period of political instability or an act of a leader who wishes to leave their mark usually to the detriment of the economy or society.
After the second world war Springbank like many other distilleries was growing its market once again which continued on the whole undisrupted until like many others it suffered the economic instability following the oil crisis of the 1970s then the biggest threat came during the 1980s as the then UK government decided to shift vast swathes of the economy to move away from manufacturing to a service based economy and the loss of millions of jobs, luckily thanks to some forward planning the distillery survived and grew in the new whisky markets, its reputation has grown not only with whisky drinkers but also within the industry.
It’s iconic 21 year old was named malt of the century much to the dismay of some back in 1999 thanks to the votes of whisky drinkers around the world this was a great moment for the distillery.
Between 2000 & 2005 Springbank 21 had sold out then a surprise release hit the market in 2005 which sold out quickly leaving us with another few years with-out the vintage, over the last few years every January early February another bottling hits the market. In the last 2 years some rather special editions have been released with a cask strength limited edition Sherry cask 17 year old due out in February 2015. And for those who love the truly rare then another 25 year old is due out late October to Mid November 2015, the 2014 edition sold out in London less than 25 mins from being released.
Not bad for a distillery that was called ODD back in 2008! Now there is a real Gem Springbank ODD a whisky bottled exclusively for our shop in London and to celebrate and bask in the glory of being ODD! Long may it continue.
And finally, don’t tell anyone this but…
The 2015 London Exclusive is going to come from a small Island off the West coast of Scotland, the only other clue is it’s not from Jura, Skye or Mull, and its old.
Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop & Tasting Room
26 Chiltern Street London W1U 7QF
Tel: 020 7935 6999
