Springbank 1965 Cadenhead

DESCRIPTION

Springbank 1965 Cadenhead, this sensational sherry-matured Campbeltown malt was laid to rest in 1965 at the Springbank distillery and bottled for Cadenhead's Cask Strength white label series.

TASTING NOTES 

A superb pedigree, but will this strong sherried oldie stay the course after the stunning 1958? Let’s see…

Colour: coffee. Nose: another school, another paradigm. Chocolaty sherry at both its heaviest and its brightest. I cannot not think of a very old Demerara rum, of a cup of ristretto, of a glass of tar liqueur and of a bowl of beef stock. Then chocolate, various herbs (parsley, chives), smoked meat and just whiffs of wood smoke, or is that charcoal? Add a spoonful of artisan strawberry jam. With water (bloody procedure): a magnificent development on aromatic herbs, it’s funny that we’re now finding in this nose what used to be in the 1958’s palate, that is to say wormwood, aniseed, sorrel, celery, absinthe… There’s also a magnificent oak, I don’t know why I’m now thinking of the old Willets from the good old US of A.

Mouth (neat): I’m tempted to just write ‘same’. Except that there’s even more chocolate than in the nose, more chocolate than in chocolate, in any case. Chocolate filled with orange marmalade and just bits of coffee. Water should further unlock it… With water: you bet it does! Could you please give another buzz to the anti-maltoporn brigade? We’re now finding in the ‘diluted’ palate what was in the ‘undiluted’ nose. Strange echoes, or the fourth dimension? So old Demerara rum, ristretto, tar liqueur, beef stock, more chocolate, various herbs, smoked meat and charcoal.

Finish: long, a tad drier as (almost) usual, with some ‘black’ tannins akin to those of Russian tea. And bitter chocolate. Comments: by no means I could decide on which one I liked best, between the 1958 and this 1965. I could quaff three bottles of each and remain undecided. That’s right, and I would be flat dead. SGP:362 - 95 points.

PRODUCT SUMMARY