Springbank 12 Year Old Cask Strength

Imagine Humphrey Bogart sitting on the set of Casablanca with a whiskey glass in his hand—that’s this kind of Scotch.

Campbelltown… back before the age of mergers, acquisitions and industrial consolidation, Campbelltown was known as the “whiskey capital of the world.” It is still one of the six officially recognized Scotch Whiskey production regions, but it has long been overshadowed by the other five. Today there are only three producers left in this historic region. Of Those, Springbank is the largest.

Importantly for Scotch lovers, Springbank is also one of only two—yes, only two—distilleries in all of Scotland that controls every aspect of production on site—from the malting of the barley to the bottling of the spirit and everything in between. This means that while many other Scotch Whiskies have become more homogenized, Springbank products still retain their unique character and personality. Love it!

They currently produce four brands: the traditional Springbank single malt, Longrow single malt (a peaty, Islay-style dram), Hazelburn triple-distilled, and their own custom blend called Campbelltown Loch.

Back in those days, the drinks were not props and it was a sin to water-down whiskey when you bottled it. You want a little water in your dram? Great, then you added it yourself. Springbank 12-year is bottled at cask strength, and that means at almost 109 proof (54.3% ABV). You don’t have to protect this dram from a little dilution with whiskey stones … bah! This authentic, copper-headed beauty will make real ice cry for joy.

Springbank 12-year Cask Strength tastes wonderfully different. All of that uniqueness comes signing through with a glorious Scottish brogue. It’s even distilled differently … 2 ½ times … meaning that a portion of the spirit is distilled twice, and the other portion three times. Why? Because they think it tastes better that way and that’s good enough for me. It is a profound statement of Celtic dram and yes, you may have another.