I really love spending my days by the seaside or travelling by ferry or ship as often as I can. Feeling that salty air on my lips and the wind in my hair makes me feel homey and free at the same time. If you are looking for a whisky that transports exactly this feeling, the perfect choice will be this 12-year-old Springbank bottled at cask strength. While I also found fruits like apples and pears in it – reminding me of the goodies my childhood self used to pick from the trees in our garden – the spirit’s most striking quality is a distinct saltiness that gives you the feeling of travelling on the open sea on a stormy day. While 70% of the whisky was matured in Oloroso sherry casks, the other 30% spent their time of maturation in bourbon casks. This wonderful dram definitely gives me itchy feet!

by Aaron

Eye: Liquid sparkling gold.
Nose: First of all there are lots of apples and pears that just fell of the trees in early autumn. This fruit salad is not only seasoned with a full vanilla pod, a dash of cocoa and a good amount of salt, but also garnished with cotton candy. The longer you wait the more tropical the fruits seem to get.
Palate: This is more than just a slight seabreeze, this is a salty storm inside your glass. However, this dram is not one-dimensional at all. You will also discover a lot of vanilla and fudge as well as a full bunch of domestic fruits like apples and pears. Hints of pepper and smoke stay in the background.
Finish: The Springbank 12 CS accompanies you for quite some time with a lot of Salt ‘n’ Pepa. And quite frankly, I am very happy that I am not speaking of the 90s hip hop band here. Instead, I am refering to a spectacular flavour profile that is rounded off by a pleasent fruity sweetness as well as some peat and liquorice.

Type: Single Malt Scotch Whiskey
Region: Scotland (Campbeltown)
Aged: 12 Years
Alc. volume: 54.1%
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price range: ~70.00 Euro
More info: http://www.springbankwhisky.com/ (Distillery)