Tag: Springbank

Quarantine Bottle Kill #5: Longrow Red 11 Year Cabernet Sauvignon Cask

Just because we’re in quarantine doesn’t mean that there can’t be a theme. Aside from sparking joy by eliminating bottles from the booze cart that is. So next up on the quarantine bottle list is the cousin to the last, the Longrow 11 Year Red: Cabernet Sauvignon Cask.

For all single malts produced in Scotland the brand must be identified with the distillery. Hence the Macallan whiskey being made at the Macallan distillery, the Jura at Jura, Laphroaig at Laphroaig, and so on. This seems intuitive yet it’s absolutely not how things are done here in the US. While there are a few eponymous distilleries most of them produce dozens of other brands as well. For example, Jim Beam not only produces Jim Beam but Bookers, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Old Overholt, and the many variations there of. 

This makes Longrow rather unique as it’s brand but not a distillery. Part of the reason this is allowed under Scottish law is that the brand is intrinsically understood to be produced at Springbank Distillery and the name of the distillery appears on every bottle. Larged embossed letters proudly proclaim “Springbank” above every label. But also, the style of Longrow is drastically different than its cousin allowing for a true separation and not just a label change on the same liquid.

Longrow, unlike Springbank, is heavily peated. There is actually a scientific way to measure the “peatiness” of a Scotch. It’s called Parts Per Million, or PPM, and is used to determine the phenol level after kilning but before distillation. Essentially the longer the malted barley is exposed to the peat fire during kilning the higher the peat and PPM. Longrow clocks in at 50 PPM which means it’s technically even peatier than the notorious peat bomb, Laphroaig which clocks in at 40 PPM.

So, here is a heavily peated Campbeltown Single Malt with less than a hundred casks produced every year at a non eponymous distillery. If that’s not enough to peak your interest then the Cabernet Sauvignon Cask will. Every Longrow Red release spends some of its formative years in a red wine cask, similar to the recently emptied Springbank Burgundy. For this release it spent the first seven years in ex-Bourbon barrels and the last four in a Cabernet Sauvignon cask.

To cap it all off the Red is bottled at Cask Strength clocking in at a whopping 104 proof meaning none of those big flavors are lost.

NOSE: Assertive smoke, raspberry, cherry,
PALETE: Leather, sea salt, smoke, darker fruit, blackberry, a touch of sweetness and a strong tannic backbone
FINISH: Long and dry yet juicy. Reminiscent of sea air with those red fruits returning.

This is a complex little dram. There’s a beautiful salinity that provides the throughline for Longrow while the tannin and the fruit lent from the Cabernet Sauvignon cask shines through at almost every level without being overwhelming. Surprisingly, I actually enjoy this one with a little water in it. The high proof gets in the way of some of the more delicate flavors that I really enjoyed in the Springbank Burgundy that are also present here.

All in all, this bottle actually feels like a perfect quarantine metaphor: subtle yet aggressive, complex yet needing a bit of hydration, and packing a hell of a punch.

Quarantine Bottle Kill #3: Springbank 12 Year Cask Strength Burgundy

Springbank has always been a fascinating distillery to me. I intellectually love them. They are one of the last great Campbeltown distilleries. Located on Kintyre Peninsula, Campbeltown was once known as “the whisky capital of the world” with 28 distilleries packed into its borders. Today a measly three remain with one of them, Glengyle which produces Kilkerran, only releasing a single malt again starting in 2012.

All of this is to say that there is no Campbeltown “style” but when people refer Campbeltown style they are almost inevitably referring to the Springbank style. Especially since Springbank produces three distinct single malt brands: Longrow (peated), Hazelburn (triple distilled), and the eponymous Springbank.

What’s interesting to me is that the standard Springbank Single Malt isn’t particularly interesting to me. Love the history of the region and I love the nuances that make it a distinct malt but it’s never something I needed to keep a bottle of on the shelf. The Wine Cask finishes however are a different story.

Springbank releases a special edition 12 year old cask strength once or twice a year. These are usually met with great acclaim but the ones that truly peak my taste buds are their wine cask finished releases. The subtly and creaminess of the standard Springbank style plays wonderfully with the tannin and juiciness added from a used wine barrel. There’s also less of the sweetness that is associated with sherry or port cask finishes. Where sherry and port can often become the defining characteristic of a malt, here the red wine melds into the base flavors creating something larger than the sum of its parts while not overwhelming any part of it. 

These bottles tend to sit on my shelves begging for a special occasion and now every night ends up as a special occasion so let’s pour out this 12 Year Old Burgundy Cask.

This special release was bottled in 2016 at 107 proof after being aged in 1st Fill Burgundy Barrels and is everything I love about these style of releases from Springbank.

NOSE: Golden Raisin, Raspberries, Black Currant, Vanilla

PALETE: Plum, Apricot, Sea Salt, Leather, Honey, with a massively creamy mouthfeel

FINISH: Long, dry, slightly peppery, and a lingering oak

This is a truly breathtaking bottle. Literally, the proof, the flavors, the mouthfeel take my breath away on the first sip everytime I come back to it. And now it’s time to take the bottle away. Another sacrifice to social distancing.