For many of us, Springbank means these colour-coded, minimalist labels. The ten, 12, 15. All more and more uncommon sights on store cabinets. We chase allocations, examine batch numbers, and deal with every cork pop like an occasion. It’s some of the revered distilleries on the planet, and rightly so. But when that’s the place your Springbank journey begins and ends, you’re lacking one thing.
Lengthy earlier than Springbank turned a cult favorite, it was quietly placing out whiskies that helped outline what Campbeltown type actually meant. The older 12 12 months outdated bottlings, much less hyped and fewer hunted, seize the identical DNA you understand and love as we speak, however with a special lens. The smoke remains to be there, the coastal notes nonetheless unmistakable. However there’s usually extra restraint, extra subtlety, and generally, a bit extra soul.
The Eighties Springbank Story
For a lot of whisky fanatics as we speak, Springbank represents these colour-coded, clean-looking labels that stay frustratingly elusive on store cabinets. But these Eighties ‘gothic S’ type bottles stand out from the group in a very placing approach.
That distinct design isn’t simply one thing to admire in outdated photographs. You possibly can nonetheless discover examples as we speak, together with one at present accessible by means of the Mark Littler web site.
Flip certainly one of these classic bottles over and also you’ll uncover a useful little label that also refers back to the liquid as ‘pure malt pot nonetheless whisky’ alongside the curious assertion that ‘this liquid might develop a slight haze’. Such particulars made manufacturers like Springbank and Bladnoch distinctive throughout Scotland’s whisky downturn of the Eighties.
A Style of Springbank’s Previous
For these of you questioning what these great bottles from 4 a long time in the past style like, listed below are some notes from the very well-loved people over at Whiskyfun.
Outdated College Lettering, New College Bottles
This gothic scripture hasn’t been deserted in Springbank’s evolution. The attribute ‘S’ has made its approach onto the fashionable line of expressions, albeit in a way more delicate kind. This distinctive letter stays within the sights of most whisky drinkers once they enter a retailer, it’s a part of what makes the model instantly recognisable.
You’ll additionally discover the identical script making a delicate return within the new Countdown Collection from Springbank. This restricted run of 500 bottles per 12 months showcases chosen age assertion whiskies and nods to the distillery’s heritage because it builds towards its 2 hundredth anniversary in 2028, a becoming tribute to certainly one of Scotland’s most enduring names.
Brilliance Constructed Into The DNA
Whereas I haven’t managed to attempt the classic 12s myself, it’s clear that the DNA hasn’t gone wherever. That quiet thread of smoke, the coastal brine, the sudden flash of tropical fruit, it’s all nonetheless there, simply sporting a special label. For these of us who love trendy Springbank, these older bottlings aren’t a special whisky. They’re the identical story informed with a barely totally different voice. When you get the possibility to attempt one, it’s nicely price listening to.
