Springbank 17 Year Sherry Wood

Returning to Campbeltown, where everything is bright, sweet, and full of that amazing Springbank character. This is a 70 cl bottling distilled in April 1997 and bottled in January 2015. I recently located a few of these in the states and am having a bottle sent my way, unsure if there was a second release as it's odd to find anything like this still available from an online retailer. This one, however, I acquired from someone. Nose - There's the classic Springbank scent of salt and brine, along with that Springbank peat. It's sweet and savory all around. I detect burnt tire, sulfur, funk, overripe or even sour red berries, vanilla, and sugar cookies. My notes almost resemble Islay but make no mistake, the sweet Springbank malt is as prominent as those funky and lightly peated notes. The sherry is really integrating well here. Taste - A quick note before the tasting details, but the bottle indicates a mix of "fresh sherry" (Springbank's wet casks) and refill. Given the color, one must assume it was mostly refill, but having sampled a few wet cask single barrels, I believe the refill pairs better with Springbank's malt. So, immediately, I get a lot of vanilla, almost to the point where I would have assumed some bourbon cask aging. Make no mistake, once the liquid passes the front of the tongue, you experience all those fruity sherry notes, berries, plums, and then it transitions to some chocolate. The finish includes that lingering chocolate note with salty Springbank goodness. The more I sip this, the more milk chocolate, almost salted chocolate, emerges to complement the funky elements. Water doesn't alter it much for me. It might be bringing out more of the malt and slightly reducing that chocolatey note, but really, it didn't even change the perceived alcohol strength, which is very pleasant and highly drinkable even at 52.3%. I would say this is a bit more refined and less sherry-forward than the 15 year. I detect fewer unusual and odd funky notes here and a more enjoyable sherry element to complement the Springbank funk. I also get so much vanilla initially with this one, which I don't recall from the 15 and it's not a characteristic of the single casks I've had with fresh sherry. I just purchased a bottle of this for 150 online, so I will use that as the price point. Overall, I'm very pleased to have a backup. This bottle has been open for a few months and has been consistently excellent from the start. As a Springbank enthusiast, I can find nothing to criticize; it's among their superior bottlings. I'm rating it 4.0. Honestly, I believe many would consider this a 5.0 if they appreciate sherry-finished Springbank. For me, while more refined than the 15, this doesn't reach the levels of sophistication I find and anticipate from those older 21 single casks or even some of the 46% 21-year-olds.

During my four-sample Springbank tasting, I progressed from two 12-year-old expressions to a considerably older single malt, this 17-year-old aged in various sherry and refill sherry casks, butts, and so on. Once again, the aroma is unmistakably Springbank. Oh, there's sherry here, but it's sherry on Springbank's terms: subtle, dry, and with another strong hit of that chalky minerality or medicinal flavor. Springbank is a distillery with a significant character, and it makes its presence known. The taste follows suit, with dry sherry, a robust meaty malt flavor, orange peel, and cherries. There are traces of smoke on the palate and, as expected, more minerality. I couldn't discern any significant difference between this older bottling and the younger, 12-year-old cask strength ones, which was somewhat surprising. My experience with some single malts, like Laphroaig, is that they develop more unique, exotic, or tropical fruit flavors over time, but there's still not a lot of fruitiness or sweetness in this older Springbank. It has a creamier texture, which might be the primary improvement. This scotch concludes with a medicinal finish combining smoke and mint.

Tastes like your mom's sugar cookies with an overripe fresh raspberry icing, finishing with a kick to the groin that leaves you doubled over, gasping for air, and already anticipating your next dram...

A sharp aroma and a burning sensation when tasted. It was acceptable after resting, with a hint of sherry, but it overshadowed any other complexities, just asserting its own character. This was even with added water.

An intense, potent impact right at the start, the strongest I can recall... Zesty. The finish is subtle and notably crisp. Truly memorable.

Quite strong and bitter otherwise, but pleasant with a splash of water. I still favor the Springbank 15.