🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Nice start, little week finish

Campbeltown and more, entry-level: 2022.10.28. https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/67261/glencadam-15-year-old 87- https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/189581/ben-nevis-10-year-old 86+ https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/205096/campbeltown-loch-blended-malt-scotch-whisky 84- https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/165224/kilkerran-12-year-old 85+ https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/192398/kilkerran-16-year-old 87- https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/197550/hazelburn-10-year-old 88- https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/6297/springbank-cv 84+ https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/180670/springbank-10-year-old 88-

Some call it the poor man's Springbank, a blended malt of young, subpar or leftover casks. Well, let's find out! Citric, funky and youthful, the nose starts off with spiced oranges, mild pepper and whiffs of peat smoke. Engine oil, brine and raisins appear. The firm arrival is accompanied by marmalade, lemon drops and slightly earthy notes before it shifts towards baking spices, pears and melon. Lime, black tea and emerging peatiness carry over into the zesty, fresh and mildly dry finish. It is not more than the sum of its parts, but it gives me a Campbeltown fix. RATING: 3.7/5.0 stars ≙ 85 pts → ABOVE AVERAGE [+]

20+ 22 21 21 84+ Beautiful sweet soft whisky, great topic for a drink, really good batch!

Fruity and mineral, yellow fruits and orchard fruits, great value for money.

How nice, a blend of single malts from all Campbeltown distilleries, and representing Springbank with three whiskey styles, nothing can go wrong - well. Sounds good, reads well on paper, but it looks a little different in the glass. The base flavors are tasty and say Campbeltown in general, Glen Scotia in particular, which in itself wouldn't be a huge disadvantage. But the nose is slightly pungent, it quickly becomes thin on the palate, and the finish is hardly worth mentioning. The approach is commendable: in times when those who just want to enjoy their Springbank in the glass, the bottlings are hyped away, a cheap blended malt for everyone. So maybe the original idea. On the one hand, if there weren't a large number of dealers who, even with such a bottling, don't lose sight of the dollar signs and call for prices at which no one is willing to buy a Springbank 10 - at least not yet. And on the other hand: well meant, but (unfortunately) not well done. Definitely expandable.

Pretty surprising whisky, in several ways. The nose is very fruity, which almost completely changes to sweetness in taste; Alcohol is hardly noticeable in nose and taste, yet quite some drying mouthfeel in finish; It's a Campbeltown blend, but I hardly discover any of the typical Campbeltown characteristics.... And still it is just a pleasant dram, and good value for money.

A fresh note, slightly woody, floral, earth and sand. This continues in the mouth, now looks a little finer. A delicate peat note over everything. Very nice!

Amber color. Oily structure.

Last here’s C. Loch was good [WLP284], if a little down on the 2021 model [WLP186], but we are nit-picking at the price [+/-£40]. I’ve since reviewed this year’s CL [WLP385], so this is extra content [as Ralfy would say]. N: Leathery, hessian, sweet, salty and malty, it’s like a Springbank that sits between the [predominantly ex-bourbon] 10yo and, if less so, the sherried 15. With only a little vinegar, this is decidedly less ‘bouncy’ than the 2024 version. Indeed, there’s no obvious rubberiness whatsoever, and it seems less cask-driven whilst the spirit overall appears more mature. The phenolic side of C. Loch shows once I’ve enjoyed a sip or two, something of a trifle, the custard and the whipped cream also emerging over [US-style] pancakes, a dignified phenolic egginess,…  To me, the distillery and cask ratios are just right. T&F: Certainly less rubbery here too, and the phenolics dialled down considerably in comparison to the 2024 edition, though the grape appears more prominent at the tail end, but it’s all relative. Creamy and malty with a fresh tannic sweet-sour edge, roughly sawn oak, liquorice wood striking the top of the palate, more ex-bourbon vanilla cream supporting the rear. C: Maintaining its go-to status as one expects C. Loch would, the annual differences tell us of SB distillers' focus on consistency of quality whilst celebrating the nature of small batch inconsistencies. 2025 is another strong year.

Campbeltown notes are clearly felt. Pleasant to drink. 71-80 – Fine, like to drink by time

Edit: Everyone's familiar with prices being marked up by stores. I don't think the 'review' section needs cluttering with complaints - it gets tiring, and there's always the forum. :-)

Aroma fresh, citrus, grassy taste full-bodied, spicy wood, citrus finish Medium length, citrus, wood spice, delicious

A lot of Springbank aroma, young but distinctive. However, the PLV is doubtful under normal circumstances, I would always prefer the Springbank 10, but that's not so easy at the moment.

Campbeltown on the label, and already the hype breaks out for many. As I expected, I get a rather unspectacular malt in my glass here. Not bad, but also far from the fact that the ordering finger would have to be nervous about the prices called. You can get something like that in a glass for around 30 euros. I suspect a lot of the higher ratings here are partly due to the Campbeltown hype bonus, who knows...

Came across this in at least 2 different shops in the Netherlands for under €50 last week (May 2022), even as low as €45. So it's still possible to get this without being ripped off.