Springbank 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) - 2025 bottling

Lightly peated and distilled 2.5 times, the tenner is the perfect introduction to the Springbank range - indeed, some consider it one of the highlights. The 2025 edition is matured in a combination of 60% bourbon and 40% sherry casks. Hyped, and for good reason, it's detailed, textural and flavoursome from the first sip through to the sweet, salty finish. It'll leave you wondering how so much complexity can be achieved at just 10 years old! 46% Alc./Vol. Non-chill filtered.

Notes from the producers... [2025 release] Nose: A vibrant cereal note introduces our flagship Springbank dram, along with notes of gooseberries, mango, vanilla pods, grapes and honeycomb. Palate: The fruit and cereal notes carry through to the palate in hints of oatmeal, malted barley and orange pulp. Heather honey, hard toffee, nutmeg and cinnamon notes develop. Finish: A characteristic sea salt note rounds off this dram.

Other reviews... [+/- 2024 release] Colour: white wine. Nose: I get the impression that SB 10 is becoming increasingly earthy, dirty, laden with soot, basalt, oyster shells, slightly rancid olive oil, mustard, slags, and various yeasts—everything we love, though it’s perhaps not quite to your new neighbour’s taste, just to be clear. SB 10 will never replace a good, easy Champagne blanc de blancs (not entirely sure about that last remark, S.). Mouth: austere, intensely saline, peppery, even dirtier on the palate, with striking bitterness and that unmistakable oily texture. Grilled aubergines come close, before lemon peel and a generous glass of fino sherry ride to the rescue. And it’s not the first time one gets the impression they’ve poured a bit of Longrow into the vatting tank. Finish: long, with that wonderfully discordant sensation of an oily yet razor-sharp malt. The aftertaste is saline, peppery, mezcal-like, and lemony. Comments: perhaps it’s that untamed, uncommercial edge that makes this so sought after. Go figure; we, of course, adore it, as ever. 91 points - whiskyfun.com