Springbank 16 Year Local Barley

This review shouldn't exist. I have way too little of this to even try and review it, but I MUST because I need to mark this day and this memory down. So I won't dwell long on politics but lets just say these last two elections have been a drain on me, and dang near everyone else alive. It seems we in the US have a new President, we'll see, and while the stress of no longer having to listen to and deal with the day to day insanity seems good, god we didn't really upgrade. So in celebration of ending my least favorite president of my life time and to drowned my pain for a new president I hate too....lets do something SPECIAL! A whisky selling for near 1k and while I have less than half an oz...I'll do my best guys. Sorry to bring in politics but that's why I'm pouring and perhaps that's important to know the mindset of the drinker. Happy and yet not happy, 2020 in a nutshell? Ok nose - Oh my! Salty sweet and oaky. I get the love already. I can't make out this fruit on here but there's a glorious fruit with sugars and salt on it. The overall profile here is candy sugar and sweetness to 11 with salty and peaty notes to balance from the springbank. I'm not picking up distinct barely just yet. Ok going back in the local barely element is there, but it's candied barely, you can tell the age of this has shifted it form a the newer spirit forward expressions and this which has good cask maturation coming in. Still at 16 years the spirit hasn't lost its vibrancy. Taste - Rich and malty, chocolatey, savory, salty, a mars bar, and then swallowing a wonderful peaty and earthy springbank finish. OK now getting some more chocolates and even some dark french vanilla, and just oak and peat. Man this is peated. The nice barely from springbank is coming in. A second pour and that finish is amazing and the peat and barely and sweetness. Tootsie rolls are coming out both the vanilla and regular. I hate to score this on such a small sample but this is better than the first 10 year. The richness and depth is just perfect. 4.25. No, not a 1k bottle but god bless this is good.

2oz pour at The Whiskey House in San Diego Only Springbank can make garbage delicious. I get this note like your neighbor fucks abandoned cheap furniture by the trash compactor and it’s been raining all week. There’s that dank musty rotting composite leather balanced beautifully with barley and charcoal. This quite reminds me of Bruichladdich Islay barley in that the beautiful malt is really highlighted. It’s got a powerful brown sugar sweetness with yellow-orange fruits like lemons and peaches and mangoes. The Springbank rot somehow adds balance and beauty. I don’t understand it! This just reaches levels of complexity that Bruichladdich can’t match. It’s a shame I can’t get a bottle. I’ve had this at bars twice and I’m sure I can’t discover everything this whisky has to offer even if I had my own bottle. I would literally drop a few hundred for this. MARK: 95/100

This was my second drink I had at a friend's last night---and oh my, was it memorable. I actually didn't know the background of this when I had it, except it was a 16 yr old Springbank. This morning, after a bit of googling, I found out that it's made from "prisma" barley, which apparently was discountined being used in the late 60s because it was so difficult to grow and distill. These bottles are now apparently all sold out, or available at outrageous prices in the secondary market. Nose: light peat, charcoals, sweet. Palette is where it kicks in: grilled lemon, cream, pears, and more charcoal. Lingering sweet finish. It's apparently not a profile available in the modern Springbank. If I had known the background of this before pouring myself a dram, I'd have skipped the Balvenie 12 that I had before this, and opted for more of this one.

Nose: Loads of citrus. Predominantly tangerines and orange peels. Beeswax. Bee pollen. Subtle ash. Earthy honey. Palette: Bright citrus. Tangerines and mandarins. Heather honey. Some barley sugar. Beeswax and bee pollen. Wood and oak spice. Tingling and sweet mouthfeel. Subtle ash and smoke. Freshly wet earth. Vegetal funk. Finish: Complex and rewarding. Medium length and viscosity. Contemplating and truly unique dram. Adding water doesn’t change much. Worth every penny. 93/100

Grainy aroma, but I'm sitting by a ripe grain field. A bit fruity (pear, apricot?) taste and very peppery afterwards. Got it on Hven. (edit: Read Pinks description, so now i feel bittersweet Seville Oranges and some ash)

Excellent whiskey. More peat than a typical Springbank. Briney salty notes. Pear and citrus.