Springbank distillery
The Springbank distillery is a family-owned single malt whisky distillery on the Kintyre Peninsula in western Scotland. It is owned by J & A Mitchell & Company, which also owns the Glengyle Distillery, the oldest independent bottler, William Cadenheads, and several blended scotch labels.[2] Licensed in 1828, Springbank is one of the last surviving producers of single malt whiskies in Campbeltown, an area that once had over thirty active distilleries.[3] The distillery produces three types of peated and unpeated malt whisky that it bottles under three distinct brands.[4] The majority of its distillate is bottled as a single malt, with a small percentage sold to larger blenders or ending up in one of J&A Mitchell's own blended scotch labels, such as Campbeltown Loch.[5]
 | |
| Region: Campbeltown | |
|---|---|
| Owner | J&A Mitchell & Company |
| Founded | 1828 |
| Status | Operational |
| Water source | Crosshill Loch |
| No. of stills | 1 wash 2 spirit |
| Capacity | 750,000 litres yearly[1] |
| Springbank | |
| Age(s) | 10-year-old 12-year-old (cask strength) 15-year-old 18-year-old 21-year-old |
| Cask type(s) | Bourbon Sherry Wine Rum Calvados |
| Longrow | |
| Age(s) | NAS 18-year-old |
| Cask type(s) | Bourbon Sherry Wine |
| Hazelburn | |
| Age(s) | 10-year-old |
| Cask type(s) | Bourbon Sherry Wine |
Malt variants
Springbank produces three variants from its distillery by tweaking the production process at various stages. None of the malts produced at this distillery is chill-filtered, and they do not contain colorants, such as caramel E150.[6]
- Springbank Single Malt is a 10-year-old, medium-peated and distilled two and a half times. A cask-strength 12-year bottling, as well as 15-year, 18-year, and 21-year bottlings are produced.
- Longrow Single Malt is a highly peated, double-distilled whisky, named after a mothballed distillery of the same name.[4] The standard bottling bears no age statement, with age-statement-bearing editions experimenting with different casks such as tokaji and Barolo. The Red edition (released annually) uses a different type of wine cask each year such as Pinot Noir, Malbec, and Port. Longrow won Best Campbeltown Single Malt at the 2013 World Whiskies Awards.[7]
- Hazelburn Single Malt, the newest variety, was first distilled in 1997 and since bottled as a 10-year-old. In 2009 a 12-year-old variety was released. Hazelburn is a triple-distilled, non-peated whisky. Hazelburn is also named after a mothballed distillery near the Springbank one.[4]
Production
Springbank is the only Scottish distillery to perform every step in the whisky making process, from malting the barley to bottling the spirit.[8] Several distilleries malt some percentage of their barley and source the balance from an industrial malting facility, such as Port Ellen; however, Springbank maintains a traditional malting floor that provides for 100% of their distillate.
Springbank then dries its barley using peat sourced from Islay for various lengths of time (30 to 48 hours) to imbue different levels of the smoky flavor associated with Scottish whisky.[5][6] Unpeated malt becomes Hazelburn, whereas medium-peated and heavily peated malts become the distillery's Springbank and Longrow labels, respectively. Once dried, the barley is ground into grist, mixed with warm water in a cast iron open-top mash tun to extract the barley sugars, the wort is cooled, then pumped into six boatskin larch washbacks to ferment for 72-110 hours and produce what's now called 'wash'.[5] This long fermentation period allows for the formation of esters that shape the fruity secondary characteristics that help make the identity of the final product.[9] The alcoholic wash goes on to the stills for the distillation phase.
Springbank uses three copper pot stills (one using direct-fire, the other two using steam) used in various combinations to produce its malts: Hazelburn (unpeated) is triple-distilled to produce a lighter, higher ABV end product of 74-76% ABV.[8][5] The medium-peated Springbank is two and a half times distilled: during the distillation process some of the low wines are collected before the second distillation, and then mixed back into the feints for another distillation. This means that some parts of the spirit have been through the stills twice and some parts three times; hence, the "half" distillation. The amount of spirit that goes through the "half" time is judged by the stillman as the process takes place to ensure consistency.[5] It emerged at around 71-72% ABV. The heavily peated Longrow is double-distilled leaving a heavier, smoky distillate that leaves the still at 68% ABV.[8] The distillery employs traditional worm-tub condensers, which limit copper contact and make for a richer, oilier spirit.
The spirit is then aged primarily in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, although Springbank experiments with a wide range of casks to produce secondary characteristics that accent its house style.[8]
References
Notes
- "Springbank Whisky - Buy Springbank Whiskies Online - Master of Malt". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- "J&A Mitchell & Company | Scotch Whisky". scotchwhisky.com. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- Springbank Distillery. "Place". www.springbankwhisky.com. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- "Springbank Whisky - Master of Malt". www.masterofmalt.com. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- "Springbank". The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- Springbank Distillery. "Process". www.springbankwhisky.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- "Longrow wins Best Campbeltown Single Malt award". Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- "Springbank | Scotch Whisky". scotchwhisky.com. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- Flaviar. "Springbank Distillery". Flaviar. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
Bibliography
- Pioppi, Anthony (7 February 2014). "Scotch done the very old-fashioned way". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- Stirk, David (2005). The Distilleries of Campbeltown: The Rise and Fall of the Whisky Capital of the World. Glasgow: Angels' Share (Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd). ISBN 978-1903238844.
External links
Media related to Springbank distillery at Wikimedia Commons
