Springbank 9 Year Local Barley

Fall far enough down the Springbank rabbit hole and you’ll find yourself chasing a seemingly endless selection of casks to try across its three distillates. This variety is one of the things everyone loves about Springbank, especially when the official bottlings are so reasonably priced. But with more than 3,500 combinations listed on Whiskybase, at some point you’ll realize that the chase is an impossible pursuit that will drain you of money and time to try other distilleries. Maybe, like me, you’ll reach this pointwhen you look at your groaning backlog of samples and realize that you have enough Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn matured in various exotic barrels to last you several pandemics. What’s more, you may whisper to yourself (nervously, lest anyone overhear), not all of it is great. It’s rarely bad, but the sheer number of official and independent releases means inconsistency is inevitable. Once you reach this point, the sensible thing to do would be to step back and try to focus on your favorite combinations, or at least rule out those you don’t like. Sherry-cask Springbank is generally a win for me, the wine-matured Longrows are worth a try but rarely a home run and I’ll gladly leave the rum casks for other people. Hazelburn is frequently boring, but I’ll make an exception for the sherry casks. And the Society bottlings are so affordable, that it would be silly not to try them all. So much for a shortlist. I mention this because a recent tasting event provided the opportunity to compare a variety of bottles across not just the Springbank distillates but also its sister distillery Kilkerran. The epic line-up comprised four Springbanks (9-year local barley, 18-year official bottling and two independents aged 24 and 31), a Hazelburn 10 bottled by Cadenhead, a Longrow 15 and two Kilkerrans, the awesome 12 and the latest heavily peated batch. The best was the 24-year-old, a private bottling of a fresh sherry cask at 49%, but this latest version of the Local 9 put in a strong showing and was a fraction better than the previous edition. Pineapple stands out on the aroma and there’s more of it in the mouth, along with cream, lemon and toasty malt. A bit of water brings out its full potential. So I guess I need to add local barely to my list of best Springbank varietals and give up hope of ever getting out of this rabbit hole. See you at the bottom, if there is one.

I’m one of those people who struggles to make decisions when presented with too many choices, so my first visit to Jack Rose in DC last night induced as much anxiety as pleasure. Confronted with more than 2,000 options, I wrestled with how to even frame the parameters for a selection. Should I order something rare from a favorite distillery? An interesting independent? A distillery I haven’t tried before? One of their barrel selections? After many minutes of agonizing, I settled on the latest local barley from Springbank, on the grounds that it was on my wishlist and wasn’t something I’d find in many bars. I wasn’t disappointed. Though I didn’t take notes, I did commit to memory a pleasant lactic quality on the nose and a savoriness on the palate. It’s complex and different enough from the previous two releases to make it worth your time, and no doubt I’ll revisit it at greater leisure in future. As for my next visit to Jack Rose, I think I’ll need to plan well ahead, perhaps by getting there an hour early to peruse the menu. The thought is already stressing me out.

Peat with a vegetal and fleshy smell at the same time, with a good component of aniseed to spice it, enriched by a massive contribution of ripe yellow fruit (peach, apricot, melon). In the bunch we also put custard, toasted cereal and a sea breeze that caresses the aromas bringing a bit of sparkling freshness. On the length, light balsamic scent. Very rich and stratified. Warm and spicy at the mouth, with cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of ginger, it releases smoky and oily peat scents in which the sweetest component is crushed and muted, bringing out dried fruit (hazelnut and plum), licorice and dark chocolate. Over time comes some orange juice shaded on smoked fish. The finish is quite long, spicy, cinnamon, orange. Less complex and bursting than the brother 10yo of 2019, however, presents a nice evolution and is more than willing to drink, confirming this as a really successful series.

Nose - I'll start up with there's a huge amount of alcohol to get through here. That abv is no joke. Lemon lime and salt. A bit of meaty notes. I'm going right into water and a decent bit. Water tames the abv but I'm not getting much new here. Taste - Lemon, salt, meaty peat. Very salted meat forward which is not something i generally get in springbank peat. Touch of vanilla. This 9 year seems like a showcase of the new make spirit aged just long enough and in some really well used barrels. I like what they're doing here, but it doesn't come close to living up to the 10 year. I got this for a pretty good price of about 130 but I've seen it for 170. I can't really recommend it for all but the biggest springbank geeks.

Online drammers club pour. Very good, may have liked this more the 18 year. Nose: Apricot, Caramel, Walnuts, Vanilla, Salt, Smoke, Heather, Raisins, Pineapple, Mango, Dried Fruit, Violets, Coal, Citrus, Chocolate, Orange, Eucyptalus Palate: Apricot, Honey, Orange Creamsicle, Heather, Coal, Smoke, Dark Chocolate, Pepper, pineapple, mint Finish: orange creamsicle, honey, apricot, sultanas, flowers, citrus, cherries, vanilla, peach

Neat in Glencairn Nose: Honey, tart cherry pie filling, hint of cereal milk Palate: Scorched Pear, a green apple tartness as if in a fine Sancerre Finish: oily, rich, lemon tart lingering With a few drops of alkaline water: Tartness drips away a bit revealing more cereal milk, creme brulee-esque notes.