Hi everyone,
We all love special releases of Springbank. We do. Don’t deny it.
One of the most popular of these has been the Local Barley releases of the last year or two and I was lucky enough to try the 16 and 11. The latest one, the 9, I have today, as well as a recent 14yo Longrow from Sherry casks.
Springbank 9 Local Barley 57.7%
Colour: Light Gold
Body: Medium/Full
Nose: More open than the previous two LB's. Freshly cut mango, some minerals, fresh lemon, fresh mint, the malt comes through well too, nicely balanced. White grapefruit and subtle smoke.
Taste: Intense, lovely arrival, fresh fruit, lemon and mango then more mineral and smoky as it develops, salt and lemon juice, soot, a little oak and crushed chalk.
Finish: Medium/Long length. Juicy lemon squeezed over salt crusted rocks.
2018 release. I prefer this one to the 16 I think. Its got none of the youth you might expect for this age although its still raw and powerful.
80/100
Longrow 14 Sherry 57.8%
Colour: Amber
Body: Full
Nose: Wonderful, complex, dirty and fruity. Leather and really intense coffee, dirty orange and pomegranate, chocolate and black pepper and soot. Lovely herbal notes as it opens up.
Taste: Intense arrival then soft, so so balanced, dirty orange and smoke, sweet Sherry, pomegranate and cranberry, black pepper, sea salt, oily mouthfeel.
Finish: Short/Medium length. Goes quite quick but the spices stay a little, black pepper and salt.
Bottled 2018. I was expecting a Sherry-smoke monster but it’s actually quite soft and light on the palate.
82/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Reviews #701-#702
Whisky Network Reviews #838-#839
Network Average: 75.1
Best Score: 94
Worst Score: 12
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.
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