🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Springbank 12, cask strength Batch 16 from 2018.

Springbank 12yo Cask Strength Extravaganza: 2022.11.12. Now that it’s been more than a year since the last release of the last CS12yo I saw it fit to go into my sample cabinet and dig up all the batches I could find. Here is what it resulted in: a gargantuan tasting of 13 different batches. I had to turn to decimal scores to do justice to this session (this is something I haven’t done before, mind you). In Order of my preference: Batch #21 (45% Sherry, 25% Bourbon, 25% Burgundy 5% Port) 56.1% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/168596 87.2 / 86.4 / 85.6 This one is a bit of a confused batch for me, too much is going on at the same time. It has some nice pine resin notes and lots of wet wine cask character. The cask influence takes over distillery character too much for my taste. 86.4 Batch #12 (65% Sherry, 35% Bourbon) 54.1% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/77708 87.4 / 87.2 / 87.3 This batch drinks quite a bit younger than its age. There is a sulphury quality on the nose and a particular earthy smokiness. 87.3 Batch #22 (50% Sherry, 50% Bourbon) 55.4% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/183244 87.4 / 87.8 / 87.2 Most definitely, a modern style of SB distillate, the funkiness is elevated, and I even find some of the HB bitterness on the finish, I like this style. The spicy, resinous European oak is rather present on the palate. 87.4 Batch #16 (70% Sherry, 30% Bourbon) 56.3% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/105550 87.8 / 88.2 / 87.4 This one has a good balance of sherry and bourbon, some roastiness, dried fruits, wood smoke, some nuttiness even. The malt comes through cleanly with lots of vanilla and floral notes, there is just a hint of menthol as well. 87.8 Batch #13 (70% Sherry, 30% Bourbon) 56.3% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/85595 88.2 / 88.4 / 87.2 A more sherry forward batch with intense spiciness and complex boiled or candied fruit notes. Camphor, dirty distillate - farmyard, drying woodiness on the finish. 87.9 Batch #18 (50% Bourbon, 50% Sherry) 54.8% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/125395 88.2 / 88.4 / 87.6 This has some very nice honied sweetness as well as floral freshness accompanying the rich maltiness and spiciness of the spirit. Fresh and white-oak-forward. 88.1 Batch #17 (70% Sherry, 30% Bourbon) 56.2% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/116449 88.4 / 88.6 / 87.6 Intense, rich maltiness, vibrant spices and honey. Minerally distillate, earthy smoke in beautiful balance with the fruity, syrupy cask influence. 88.2 Batch#23 (100% Bourbon) 55.9% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/192086 88.6 / 89.0 / 88.2 Very modern green type of American oak influence. A bit sappy, almost too sweet… but the creamy texture and the floral barley character comes through from the spirit, making it a very clean, juicy expression from the distillery. Most definitely dominated by the first-fill white oak. 88.6 Batch #19 (65% Bourbon, 35% Sherry Casks) 57.1% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/138854 88.6 / 89.4 / 88.4 Smoky, dirty, resinous. Roasted malt and a bit of waxiness from the distillate. Strong honey note, vanilla, ripe fruits, and a touch of sulphur alongside the SB funk. 88.8 Batch #20 (35% Sherry, 65% Bourbon) 55.3% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/148336 89.6 / 89.4 / 88.4 Heavy body, creamy, malty, spirit driven. Nice depth and sweetness from the reserved sherry influence. The barley comes through clearly, heavy oily texture, farmy, funky aromas. Almost reminiscent of the recent local barleys. 89.2 Blues Edition (100% Bourbon) 57.3% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/21544 88.6 / 90.2 / 89.4 A masterpiece in floral bourbon maturation. Leathery, waxy and dirty, exploding with floral complexity and mineral hay notes. Almost no smoke, but a tiny bit of farminess. Drinks considerably older than 12 years. 89.4 Batch #15 (70% Sherry, 30% Bourbon) 56.5% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/99298 89.2 / 89.6 / 89.4 Strong, spicy sherry influence, concentrated smoky fruitiness. Earthy vanilla, oily barley and pronounced farmy funk. This is one of the most intense batches and one of the dirtiest. The style of ‘dirty’ sherry casks is reminiscent of the old-school SB-sherry-funk. 89.4 Batch #9 (100% Sherry) 54.3% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/57458 90.2 / 90.2 / 89.4 Elegant and fruity style of sherry comint through. Classic oloroso aromas, in perfect harmony with the dry and farmyard-y spirit. Spices from the resinous European oak, white pepper nutmeg, vegetal freshness and honied floral notes. Dry maltiness, some plaster, earthy smoke; all enveloped in thick juicy sherry. 89.9 And the baseline: Springbank 10yo (20/151) 46% https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/180670 87.6 / 87.4 / 87.2 Fresh woody and yeasty. Bitter funkiness not unlike HB, and some plaster. Fresh floral honey, some damp hay, dried apples and pears, waxy texture, barley-sweetness. Camphor and sharp spices give more depth. 87.4

In the last batch gabs still a hint of Kuhstall, here it is marzipan in the nose. Always a small feature, but always with the same basic character and the same high level.

Nice, at first some peat and smoke, in time it gets more and more fruitier. Red fruits. Nice batch.

Seems a bit less mature than the previous batch, but they're clearly in the same style. Both are not as sulphuric as some earlier batches.

Tasted this whisky at a tasting session at Passie voor Whisky on the 5th of May 2018. oily, minerals, hint of smoke, sweet. Nothing out of the ordinary, but very good!

The sulphur is nice but it's very metallic. Not my cup of tea on the metallic note.

[February, 2018]  So far I really enjoyed most of the cask strength releases by Springbank and this new release is bottled at exactly the same abv of 56.3% as the 2016 one that I liked best so far.  This new release was the first batch of Springbank in the new year bottled on January 4th, 2018.  I bought this bottle for 54 Euro today. The colour is amber and the texture shows many small tears that slowly consolidate.  The nose offers a rather unusual profile of marzipan, cheesy and meaty aromas that do not really chime together.  To be frank, I do not like this.  The dram arrives a little hot in the mouth with almost no coating effect at all but a minor adstringent feeling (ashes).  The taste again shows this strange marzipan-cheese-meat combo that is not to my liking - but where do these flavours come from (I never had this in a Springbank CS before)?  The finish is of medium length and sweeter than the taste but with a drying end (tobacco ashes).  Water does not help either. While the 2016 CS edition was excellent (I scored it 90 points) this 2018 bottling is not to the liking of my taste buds.  As both bottlings have the same abv of 56.3% one should be cautious to check the small imprint from the bottling hall at the bottom of the bottle.  But maybe you like this 2018 profile better than I do... PS:  There is a minor sulphury note in this batch, too.

This is a bit unique in the line, but it's okay.

2043) Springbank, 12YO, Cask Strength, Batch 16, 04-01-2018

This is a typical Springbank. Old carpet in the nose, typical Springbank taste but a little dry finish. I like it!

In early March I was wondering what would happen with 6 months of air - well, half my 10cl sample got 4 months with muh better results. Fred Flinstone is only present for a very short time, then gives way to smoke and overripe yellow fruits, i.e. quince, with a slight dry touch appearing then overwhelmed by smoked quinces. The fruit is really concentrated and mouth watering with a touch of iodine. The smoke subsides quickly, though.The dram leaves a pleasant warming finish on the tongue, where the lucious quince remains watering with some yellow plums ... Wow, a big change from 4 months ago, so a separate note for this encounter.

please see hs305's notes

Outstanding quality as always. Maybe a little less smoke and dirt than usual.

nice smoky profile. Seems a bit dirty, which is very coherent in the combination that this malt offers.

Early this year I used the last sample I had of the bottle for a home tasting with a friend. Out of all the whisky on the table that night, this was the one that surprised us. It's a bottle that both of us were familiar with, so it was hard to accept the first nosing round's repulsive impression of smoky, dirty, and rubbery notes all out of tune. It felt like the worst whisky on the table. It took us probably 30 minutes to get back to that glass since it was an early one in the lineup. Time made all the difference: now we had a still dirty, but well integrated and no longer rubbery whisky that was big but not cartoonishly so . We hadn't added any water yet, just let it air out, so you may want to let it sit for a while if you're trying it out and it doesn't work at first.

Blind tasting. Cherry, board, pepper. Quite strong, young and not particularly colorful. At the end, mint notes appear, but this does not lead to a higher level. 10-15 years, something sherry-vinous, 55-58%, Speyside PS Hmmm, the cult Spring series, of course not Speyside, but I didn’t catch anything mineral, everything was at a minimum there, although the age, degree and general misunderstanding of this batch among comrades is spot on :)

N: Slightly sulfured, tart raspberries, dirty ash, rubber, dry gravel, minerals. P: Creamy, sour and salty, good mouthfeel, ashy raspberry F: Still that sour salty combo. Chlorine, Red berries. A little ashy. Thoughts: Some good elements, but it’s not one I would buy again (this batch) due to the sulfur. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the regular old 10 year.

02/10/2022: Excellent series, stable quality. Rich, unquestionably sherry. An interesting mix of salinity and dessert. Due to the bright sherry, oscomina appears quickly.

Balance sheet (21) What can I say? Sad ... let's look at the next batch (86)

Much better after some aeration in the bottle. Takes water really well

Nice dram from lovely distillery. High quality

Tasted this along side batch 15 (99298). This one is fruitier and less peaty. The finish makes the greatest difference. This bottling makes the 12CS standard easily where Batch 15 only barely touched it IMHO. Obviously, I like this better than Batch 15. I did a quick comparison with Batch 9 (my favorite so far) and I think that's still better in every aspect.

21/21/21/21 84 easy daily dram 56,3 well covered by sherry

In a first tasting, a pure Springbank, but now with sulphur. A pointless statement in view of the prices, but... If you can see past that, you get a classic Springbank 12.

Nice Springbank, very fresh and vivid. Not really complex but good in what it has. Easy going, pleasant and reasonably priced - it has everything to be a perfect daily dram.

Hadn't opened a CS 12 bottle for some months. With the fall 2018 approaching, I thought it was time again. I can be short about this one. It's like coming home again. Springbank 12 CS never let me down; the boys in Cambeltown did it again. Keep up the good work!

Mineral, slightly peated, leather, fruit notes, peaches , mango chutney

Fish sauce, dill, marshmallow and tar. Fat and buttery palate with smoked coconut spongecake, and almonds wrapped in seaweed. The wonderful expected unexpected that comes with these Springbank 12's.

Tasted at Sherry Butt, Paris, 03/19.

Another delicious Cask Strength springbank, which, however, loses a bit compared to previous bottlings due to the sulfur. Update 10.7.2020: The last dram in the bottle has hardly any sulfur left. Today I would award 87 points.

Very tasty and interesting whisky. A lot of different and stable elements which are greatly mixed and balanced in all tasting parts (nose, palate and finish and that's why I will not describe them separately). From the first moments this whisky is opened with powerful notes of spring blossom, bakery wrapped into peaty smoke. Then appear notes of vanilla, barley malt, chocolate and of course Oloroso sherry. All the notes are stable and long, bold and deep and really remarkable. The great style of Springbank.

Need a quite time in the glass, at least 20 minutes.

This is a dram someone can't possibly hate. It has combined all the basic elements without losing any intensity. Distillery character, peat, fruit, winy notes, confectionery sweetness and funk. Nothing is crazy overpowering nor balanced to death. That's quite an achievement. A little pricy for a 12 year old at cask strength (that's the market nowadays), but so worth it.

Concentrated Malt.

Not very complex. With water, the low sweetness disappears completely. Slightly less spicy than the 15y. The sherry portion is barely recognizable.

Room temperature when drinking: 25 ℃ Seeing Eyes: Golden smells Nose: Motor oil, mandarin fish, blue cheese, it's here again. The sweetness is even worse batch 15, coconut sugar, red date cake, heavy cheese cake. Occasionally, the peculiar green flavor of cereals and vegetable strips appears, and there is coffee milk chocolate faintly. Expired yogurt and sour milk. The waves were violent and slammed against the reefs. There was a large landfill under the coal mine. Although the tobacco smell is not heavy, it always reminds me of selling fish and smoking 5 cigarettes at the same time. It's really dirty, primitive, and really nice. Batch15 may have been released for a long time, and nose is not as expressive as this one. Taste Palate: fermented sour beans, medium sweet, milky, honeydew. The mid-level greasy rush to the top, the smelly mandarin fish, fried stinky tofu, motor oil, minerals, and the bitter taste of salt. At the end of the round, the milk taste and the peach mousse whirled twice. End rhyme Finish: Medium length, personally digging coal, dust, wood stubble, lightly seasoned white meat, hand-made steamed bun body: Medium, full of fat, no tannins, bitter bottom appears wonderful. The downside is that the wine does n’t keep up with the palate, and the grease and firmness are worse than batch 15. Nose: 88/100 Palate: 88.5 / 100 Finish: 87/100 Body: 87/100 Overall: 88/100 Overall: If batch 18 is a girl wearing pearl earrings, then batch 16 is a young woman wearing leopard-print mink, a world famous painting

Buttery and meaty, very idiosyncratic and characteristic, almost cheesy. In addition, a trace of warm smoke and some apricot. Length: 6/10 Great malt with recognition value, but the meaty, cheesy notes are perhaps a bit too much for a top rating Grade: 2+

Is this batch a fluke?  The cynical side in me suspects Springbank is now reserving good casks to age longer or driving down the 12 CS quality to prevent it from cannibalizing sales of their expensive bottlings.

The aroma is milky, sour, sweet-spicy, salty, constantly flowing profile. Dried fruits, salt and vanilla stand out the most consistently. Over time, herbal and juniper notes emerge. The taste is consistently sweet sherry, but with salt, pepper and again a handful of spices appearing on the borders. The finish is long, drying, salty licorice, citrus zest, meadow herbs.

2019.02.22

Really nice when put it in mouth

On dried fruits, spices, caramel and gourmet notes This limited edition is superb!

Nose: Sweet dried fruits such as apricots and plums dominate at the beginning. A fine sea breeze with spices (clove, pepper) and a slight smokiness follow. I also notice a fine note of marzipan with vanilla. • Taste: The nose can also be found in the taste. First you get dark dried fruit and some honey sweetness. Chocolate and orange zest immediately follow. With a fine note of salt on my lips, I now taste the spices. The alcohol is well integrated. • • Outlet: Long lasting maritime with fruits and spices.

Compare both batch 13 and 16 (WD Id: WB85595). All have the same 56.3%abv. Both were using 70% Sherry and 30% Bourbon Casks. At first both of it are quite similar, after a couple more minutes; they started to show the differences. Batch 13 show higher intensity and more sherry influences. While batch 16 show a more lively character.

nose: leathery， fireworks, sulphur mouth: honey, sweet fruits, dates, sulphury, bread crumbs finish: long, sweet mouth watery, melon

Nose As I’m approaching the glass, not even quite there yet I get hit by intense peat smoke, sugar sweetness and fresh fruit. Very powerful nose! Upon closer inspection, there’s a minerality accompanied by honey and pungent brine and seaweed. Digging deeper there is some raisins, chomeur’s pudding and a weird cheesy note. 23/25 Palate Strong fruity and chocolaty arrival that coats the tongue and mouth. Honey and barley sweetness take residence on the tongue while some peat, fruit, spices and alcohol-induced effervescence travel along the insides of the cheeks. Like the nose advertised, this dram is an assertive beast that doesn’t wait for you to guess what you’re tasting. 23/25 Finish Medium slightly drying finish high on stewed fruits and honey that develops into a malty note and at the death, ash. 21/25 Value and presentation At 110$ CAD, it is priced rather well for a cask strength whisky and it comes with a perfect craft presentation of no chillfiltration and at natural colour. While Springbank excels at pretty much everything they do, value and presentation wise, the 10 and 12CS is where they shine most from my experience. 25/25 Total score 92/100

Classic meaty springbank, very aromatic nose and confectionary palate. Highly recomended! 90/100 A&A

Peaty, little bit malty, matured fruit like peach with much water Little bit spicy and malty fruity. The taste that I was looking forward to at Springbank 12 CS.

Nose Spices, dried fruit, vanilla, slightly peat Taste A little rough, dry, peppery, spicy, slightly salty, vanilla, liqorice, pears, raisins and caramel Finish malty, spicy, dried fruit, and slightly oaky. Need some water to open up