Review by: The Muskox

With my move from Canada to the US, I feel like I’m getting to try these trendy releases closer to their actual release date. For example, I’m getting to this Springbank only… *checks notes* …a year after it was bottled. Not too bad!

Springbank is doing a series of these sherry finish releases – this first one starts with the shortest finish in the most strongly-flavoured sherry, with future releases being in progressively mellower casks but also being finished for longer. I feel like the upcoming Palo Cortado and Manzanilla casks will be more my speed than this PX, but I’m happy to give it a try anyways. At least for sample prices.

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Distillery: Springbank.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Campbeltown.

ABV: 55%. Cask strength.

Age: 10 years. Distilled in July 2022. Bottled July 2023.

Cask type: Finished for three years in fresh Spanish oak Pedro Ximenez sherry hogsheads.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Very dark amber. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Dark and pretty sweet. Raisins and caramel pudding, baking chocolate. Warm spices – cinnamon, vanilla, and clove. Balsamic reduction and varnished wood. There are subtle earthy and spicy smoke flavours of earthy peat and shaved cedar bark. Sourdough with salted butter.

Palate: Medium texture, fairly hot. Dark fruits, cooked plums, manuka honey, saltwater taffy, and brown sugar, pastries. Surprisingly strong peat on the development, becoming rather tannic with lots of overbrewed Earl Grey tea and peppery oak. It really is Earl Grey-ish – there’s fragrant citrus and some cardamom. S’mores dropped in the campfire.

Finish: Medium-length. Lingering tannins. Loads of maple – maple butter, maple taffy, burning maple branches. Earl Grey tea with shortbread on the side. Sea salt and black peppercorns. Apricot jam and more balsamic.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Sugar shack implosion disaster”

Conclusion: I actually liked this more than I expected too. It’s certainly sweet, as well as pretty hot and rather tannic, but there’s decent complexity within and beyond the sherry, rounded out by some nice Springbank-y earthy savoury character. It’s still more on the sherry side of things then I tend to prefer for Springbank, but it’s tasty.

Final Score: 84.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.