Springbank distillery

View of Springbank Distillery

The Springbank Distillery is a whiskey distillery on the Kintyre, Scotland peninsula. It is next to Glen Scotia one of the last distilleries of whiskey Campbeltown region, in which there were 30 distilleries in the past. A third distillery, Glengyle, was opened in 2004 and is expected to offer a then 10 -year-old Kilkerran in 2014. Spring Bank is since 1837 owned by the Mitchell family and has preserved its independence until today. At the same time it is one of the few distilleries that produce more than a single malt - except Springbank Longrow and also, is here, burned Hazelburn since the end of 1997. Also owned by the Mitchell Dynasty is the company Wm Cadenhead, one of the oldest and largest independent bottler of whiskey in Scotland. The distillery buildings are sorted in the Scottish lists of monuments in the B category.

History

The distillery was founded in 1828 by the Reid family, making it the fourteenth, which was documented in Campbeltown. 1837 License to burn whiskey was purchased. As of 1920 the Prohibition in the United States began the distilleries had (not only) very hard hit in Scotland under the sales slump. A majority of the more than 20 distilleries that existed at the time of Kintyre, had to adjust in the following years their operation, and Spring Bank from 1926 to 1935 can not produce. Since August 2006, Spring Bank is run by Stuart Robertson.

Products

What is unusual about the distillation of Spring Bank is that the lag collected from the first firing step and three times, but the rest was burned only twice. Therefore, usually one speaks of two and a half times distillation. The malt used is ( as with Longrow and Hazelburn ) exclusively from the maltings and is slightly peated for this whiskey and contains approx. 7-8 ppm of phenol. Also is omitted Kaltfiltrierung and the use of dyes. As standard bottlings there Springbank 10 - and 15 -year-old, each with 46 vol - % and the 10 -year-old 100 ° Proof with 57 vol - %. The vast majority of the whiskey is stored in Refill Bourbon barrels, a small part but also in sherry or Rumfässern.

In addition to the Springbank whiskey distillery also distributes the brands Hazelburn and Longrow. These are named after the former Hazelburn ( closed 1925) and Longrow distilleries ( closed 1896). After taking over a Hazelburn first time in 1997 again distilled - but on the grounds of Spring Bank. It will be offered an 8 year old and a 12 -year-old whiskey. The whiskey is made from non-peat malt and triple distilled. The standard bottling comes from Refill Bourbon barrels.

The displaced as Longrow whiskey is strong peated (55 ppm phenol) and is distilled twice. From Spring Bank, he was first distilled in the years 1973/1974 and released in 1985. Longrow is produced at most once a year, which should help ensure that it is relatively difficult to obtain. The standard bottling of Longrow is 10 years old and comes from Refill Bourbon barrels. However, there is also a 10 -year-old sherry cask bottling. There is also an experimental Tokaji Finish.

Unusually for distillation is the high degree of manual activity at Springbank. While other whiskey producers have automated the production largely, Springbank is often referred to as ' ongoing museum '. So there is not a single computer in the production, the bottling is done with many manual steps. Springbank engaged in the production far more people than, say, the much larger distillery Glenfiddich. The tours of the distillery are highly recommended and are in contrast to the larger distilleries very personal and the photographing is at all stages of production (eg including stills, warehouses ) are allowed.

Production interruption

On August 27, 2008, the owner of J & A Mitchell & Company Ltd. announced. known that temporarily no new Springbank and Glengyle whiskey is produced. The reason very high commodity prices have been specified. In early 2009, the production, as announced on 24 November 2008, resumed in two distilleries.

Longrow 10 years

Hazelburn 8 years

Springbank produces its whiskey almost exclusively for their single malt bottlings, which might be due to the fact that the distillery is still family owned and all processing steps can control themselves. A small portion, however, is used for the blends Campbeltown Loch (5 years, 15 years and 30 years) and Mitchell's 12yo.