Springbank 10yo PX Cask Matured
Official Limited Release 2022 | 55% ABV
Building relationships opens many doors.
It always starts the same way. An obligatory post to my Instagram account and then the direct messages start.
“Hey buddy, just saw you got the latest release. Can you tell me how you got it and how I can possibly get a bottle too?” Invariably these questions always come from people who don’t actually follow me, those who do know the score.
The answer is always the same: “I have a very good relationship with my local off-licence and all the bottles are allocated, pre-sold before the shipment arrives.”
I don’t mean to be unhelpful, I’m always glad to try and help when it comes to sourcing bottles for people, but the answer given is totally honest. When it comes to anything Springbank related, my local off-licence runs a pretty strict one bottle per customer policy and it’s almost always pre-allocated before the delivery arrives in store. Only once over the last few years have I got two bottles of anything, and that was the 2021 Springbank 10 release because they received a bigger allocation than expected. Even the perennially overlooked Hazelburn 10 and Longrow Peated never make it to the shelves of the store these days.
It’s a sad but common issue for anyone who is a Springbank fan these days, even the ‘entry level’ drams from Hazelburn, Longrow and Springbank have essentially become unicorn bottles. Those that don’t make it on to auction sites can often be found with retailers charging exorbitant prices. Only recently someone on the It’s All About Springbank Facebook page posted about a retailer in Holland charging €695 for the bottle we are reviewing today. Sadly though the genie is well and truly out of the bottle when it comes to Springbank and it’s unlikely to ever be put back in.
I don’t underestimate the privileged position I’m in when it comes to being able to get any expression of Springbank and at the RRP recommended by J & A Mitchell’s. In fact, it’s because of the nefarious practices of some retailers who were charging excessively over the RRP and who were subsequently deleted from getting allocations by Springbank that my local store gets the allocations they do.
The shop I use has had a relationship with Mitchell’s for decades and due to the fact they never tried to cash in like some other retailers did on that relationship in recent years as Springbank’s popularity and profitability (on the secondary market) surged, they find themselves in an enviable position of getting almost all the expressions that come out of the hallowed warehouses of Campbeltown. Now, finances dependant, I can basically pick and choose what I want and be relatively assured that I’ll get a bottle.
I do also take a small bit of pleasure in winding up a few Scottish folk who ‘cannae get thur hawns’ on a bottle especially with my ill-gotten reputation of not actually liking anything from Springbank. A score of 3 out of 10 on a previous Springbank 15 will seemingly haunt me until the end of days, although I was only barred temporarily from the IAAS.
So what’s the point of this unnecessarily wordy preamble? Well it comes down to relationship building. Much like my local off-licence has spent years building and maintaining a relationship with J & A Mitchell’s, I’ve spent years building and maintaining a relationship with the store, which from my point of view definitely pay’s dividends. Whether it’s a Springbank release or something local such as a Killowen or Dunville’s, the place I shop puts their local, regular customers first, which in turn only engenders further loyalty from us. Sure, I still buy whisky online and some of the bigger retailers, but I’ll always check my local store first and will choose them over the larger outlets anytime.
Outside of building relationships with independent retailers locally, build relationships with fellow enthusiasts. I reckon I’ve shared about a third of this bottle with others who couldn’t get one. I’m in no doubt this will be reciprocated because experience tells me the whisky community is one of the most generous communities out there and I actively receive and share samples with others on a regular basis. Plus it’s these relationships that can open our minds and palates to distilleries and types of whisky we may never have considered trying or purchasing before.
On that theme of sharing, I’ve passed along a sample of today’s whisky to our own Dallas Mhor, potentially to deflect criticism of my own scoring but also to give you another equally valid opinion and insight into this dram.
Review
Springbank 10yo, PX Cask Matured, 2022 Release, 10,800 bottles, 55% ABV
£95. Hard to find now.
Today, we have the much anticipated Springbank 10 year old Pedro Ximenez Cask Matured release. The first in a series of experimental sherry releases over the next few years coming out of Campbeltown as they work with sherries other than their normal oloroso choice.
This was distilled in July 2012 and spent seven years in bourbon casks before a three-year second maturation in fresh Pedro Ximenez hogsheads. Following this release will be a Palo Cortado (six years bourbon, four years sherry), an Amontillado (five years bourbon, five years sherry), a Fino (four years bourbon, six years sherry) and finally in year five, a Manzanilla (three years bourbon, seven years sherry). Each will be the same age and bottled at the same abv allowing us to see how these variations affect the colour, nose, palate and body of the whisky.
Nose
Dense sweetness immediately hits – cola, sticky raisins, dates, caramel & Christmas pudding. Almonds, furniture polish and milk chocolate. Ginger nut biscuits and then a little vanilla cream from the bourbon casks and eventually a hint of the famous Campbeltown funk. Very sherry dominant. Water brings out black liquorice, more cola, vanilla and Play-Doh.
Palate
Sweetened espresso, Muscovado sugar with vanilla pods and 85% cocoa dark chocolate. Citrus peel with steamed fruit cake, marzipan, raisins and dates. Toasted nuts and plum jam. There’s a little alcohol heat mid-palate alongside ginger and clove. Water brings pepper, more ginger and a chalky mineral note. The finish is quite short with nuttiness and syrupy sweetness from the sherry casks, some coffee grounds and some oak tannin dryness.
The Dregs
Let’s look at the positives first: Those are some clean sherry casks. No sulphur at all, which for me has been a bit of an issue over recent years with some of the sherry-dominant Springbank releases.
Now the negatives: Those are some punchy sherry casks. This is so dominated by sherry it’s hard to pick out that it’s a Campbeltown malt. The funk has been drowned in a barrage of sticky raisin juice. Of all the sherries I think that PX needs to be used judiciously. As such, I never really understand the clamour from whisky fans to have PX casks used in maturation as it’s so easy for a whisky to be lost to the grape as has happened here.
If a sherry bomb is your bag you’ll probably love this but at £95 it’s very expensive for what it is and these flavours can be found elsewhere and, more importantly, at an easier asking price. I’d recommend you just buy a bottle of PX sherry and a bottle of Springbank 10 (don’t dare mix them though) and save yourself about £30 in the process.
Score: 5/10 AG
Dallas Mhor’s Review
Springbank 10yo, PX Cask Matured, 2022 Release, 10,800 bottles, 55% ABV
£95. Sample provided by Archie - we’re drinking from the same bottle.
Nose
A promising start with delicately glazed cherries and a woody dampness. Chocolate raisins, an old shoe and all-spice. It takes a bit of prizing out at first. Sooty, red liquorice and dried bark. A slice of tangerine given time and chocolate mint leaf. I’m also reminded of tiramisu with a handful of fresh coffee beans and some vanilla notes.
Palate
Dark chocolate, roasted red pepper, wood spice, blackcurrants and cranberries. Quite flat in places with red berries, an oakiness and a touch of that classic earthiness. Even a splash of water fails to unlock new dimensions, or a very patient approach. Sure, more of that chocolate mint leaf note, tobacco and a gentle smokiness with orange peel.
The Dregs
Yeah, quite the contrast in this Springbank. You’re always on a hiding to nothing reviewing releases such as these given the focus on value and investment. Inflated scores to keep those margins profitable. My thanks to Archie for opening his bottle and providing a generous sample in return for my opinion.
I’m acutely aware that this new series is to showcase the influence that various types of sherry wood bring to the Springbank experience. This isn’t an exceptional single cask picked out for bottling or, I suspect, the best moment to bottle this release. Once you have a series and are locked into delivering that series, this becomes the guiding force. So, my expectations were tempered somewhat prior and realistic. Despite this, I’m a little disappointed by the overall outcome and we haven’t even discussed the price.
The nose is excellent given time and a patient approach. It offers layers and an example of where the PX cask hasn’t dominated the distillate, which you rarely see nowadays. The majority of distillates (especially from new distilleries) are often brutalised by the host sherry wood. Resulting in a dram that is more sherry than whisky and samey across the industry. This bottling confirms the staunch robust nature of the Springbank distillate and on the nose it works extremely well.
Where things fall down somewhere are on the palate, as rather than either side dominating or stretching out to a lead, I find there’s still a tactical discussion taking place. Neither has the upper hand and instead you have a quagmire. The blast of red fruitiness we see in this wood type thankfully hasn’t come through fully, but we’re left with a spicy, oak and a somewhat insipid whisky. It needs more time in my opinion, or at least more refill. The nose does save the day to a certain degree and it’ll be interesting to put this into the final line up once all the series are available. On this basis, I’d happily wager it won’t be the best of the bunch, or even the runner-up.
Score: 6/10 DM
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AG