Occasionally, just occasionally, we stop talking about wine. It seems rude not to share some of the other random stuff we come across, as we know that Wine Conversationalist listeners and readers are a pretty discerning bunch.
Springbank 21yr Malt Whisky
While most of the world’s greatest wines are owned by families, the whisky industry is dominated by corporations, with only a handful of independently owned Scotch distilleries left. Springbank is one of them. It is the whisky world’s equivalent to a first growth.
▴ Springbank Distillery
I first came across this whisky when I arranged a blind malt whisky tasting for Decanter Magazine, over thirty years ago. Wallace Milroy, a giant in all senses of the word in the whisky world, was on the panel and Springbank 21-year-old came out top. It is one of the very few spirits I have tasted which has as much complexity and elegance as a truly great wine. I regard it as “the Lafite of whiskies”. I am delighted to report that when Charles Chevallier, the former Technical Director of Lafite, came to visit me, he was quite impressed with it. Now owned by the fifth generation of the Mitchell family, this extraordinary distillery is based in Campbeltown, and well worth a visit. As for the whiskies, they range from 10,12, 15, 18 and 21 years of age, but the finest of all remains the 21-year-old www.springbank.scot