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Springbank 21 Year Old - 2023 Release
Plenty of Springbank funk and tropical fruits but just lacks the balance in flavour to be spectacular.
Score: 8 / A
21 August 2023
Category
Country
Region
Distillery
Owner
Age
ABV
Chill Filtered?
Added Colouring?
UK Price
Cask Makeup
Single Malt Scotch
Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Springbank
J & A Mitchell
21 Years Old
46%
No
No
£260
45% Bourbon, 20% Rum, 20% Sherry, 15% Port
Introduction
Of all the sought after releases from Springbank, few can be more anticipated than the 21 year-old. Sitting in the price range to be the dram of choice for special occasions but with a secondary market mark-up historically good enough that investors will go hunting. The question is: can this years release live up to the hype?
Colour
Light Gold
Aroma
Predominantly savoury with sweet elements. The bourbon and rum cask influences are obvious with vanilla and oak coming through strongly with tropical notes of banana. There are also notes of cereal, green apple, butterscotch, clove and warm spices. I personally do not get any smoke or peat at all.
Taste
Quite light and delicate with plenty of complexity. Primary sense is savoury with vanilla and oak. Banana and mango provide a tropical sweet influence and there are hints of dark berries from the port and sherry casks but they are very subtle, probably too subtle. There is only a whisper of peat there but there is some dunnage and rope notes remind you this is Campbeltown whisky! The texture is buttery and very pleasant.
Finish
Tropical fruit with a dose of funk! Not so much the arrival of new flavour but more the mellowing of wood influence exposing the sweet notes, and just a subtle hint of peat. I initially found the dram to be quite short, but it manages to cling on, and I was still getting some taste a good half an hour later.
Water
A few drops helped open the whisky up and bring the fruit notes forward and settled the wood down.
Thoughts
When I saw the cask make up, I was concerned that it might just be a touch too busy, I do not think this has borne out however. I think the impact of the sherry and port is minimal and what they provide may not be in the addition of flavour but in reducing the impact of active bourbon and rum casks. It's an interesting dram with lots of different flavours to explore but I think the classic character of the spirit was lost with the limited peat influence. The cask make-up may simply be a question of Springbank managing available stocks with an intent to have a 25 and 30 year-old core release each year now. Overall it is a good dram without being spectacular.
Nose: 20 / 25
Taste: 22 / 25
Balance: 18 / 25
Value: 22 / 25
Total: 82 / 100
Worth the Purchase?
I happily recommend this dram. It has the complexity you would expect from a higher price point. You are unlikely to be disappointed should you choose to indulge.
A slight price rise to £260 RRP still leaves this bottle below the market value, but the gap is closing. It's unlikely to go below RRP at auction in a similar manner to Hazelburn 21 year-old. With the general downturn in the second-hand market, I do not expect this to be anywhere near the stellar prices of the past few years, giving hope to those who must turn to auctions to secure a bottle. There is a chance the 21 year-old may drop below £400 due to the tidal wave of bottles purchased by bots and professionalised flipping hitting the auctions.
If you are purchasing as an investment this bottle has several qualities that should aid performance long term. Those looking for instant profits may well be disappointed. I suspect there has been a fairly large release of Springbank 21 this year. It feels considerably harder to get hold of 18 or even the 15 year-old. This again will have direct impact on anyone seeking short-term profit.
Want to try something similar?
Longrow 21 Year-Old
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