Springbank 12 Years Old Green Thistle 46% NV

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (91)

Another dark one, most likely for the UK.

Colour: deep amber.

Nose: This one is less immediately meaty and instead veers more towards prune juice, figs and pure earthen floored dunnage warehouse. Lots of hessian sack cloth, fruit loaf, Guinness cake, walnut liqueur and ancient balsamico. Shares a very definite DNA with the Japan version but there are tpeatiness sits quietly underneath everything.

Mouth: feels a little drier, earthier and maybe a tad thinner on the palate than the Japan bottling. Lots of hessian, camphor, salted liquorice, red liquorice, blackcurrant jam, cassis, a touch of tar liqueur, some cooked ham, quince. It’s a big, blustery, drying and rather powerfully earthy sherry. A nice saline edge keeps everything pretty fresh.

Finish: Long, still very earthy but getting more meahese wee subtle differences. Continues with many dried herbs, maraschino cherry, coal dust and chopped dates. A leathery, rather leafy ty now, some burned raisins, caraway and cured meats.

Comments: It’s still terrific whisky, and every inch a big sherried Springbank, it’s just that it struggles a bit in the shadow of that Japanese behemoth.

BOW (92)