Ex-bourbon and re-charred sherry | 57.9% ABV

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Give it time and be rewarded*

Downturns and Neckpours

The world's a bit of a mess at the moment. We're living through some sort of turning; a hinge in the affairs of humankind, and we won't know what it is until we're out the other side and have a bit of distance on it. This, to be unapologetically parochial, is having a decidedly negative effect on whisky sales, as folks everywhere pull in their horns.

Even those of us who say yes by default to new releases of our favourites are easing off the pedal. We whisky geeks look at our collections, do a few mental sums, and realise that we could safely not purchase a single bottle for two, three, ten years and still not run dry.

On top of that, of course, the eternal Scotch Whisky industry habit of riding every boom Like Major Kong in Dr Strangelove is, as always, not ending well. The decade and a half habit of whacking on yearly price increases, implausibly premiumising entirely workhorse brands, assuming that every price increase will be lapped up by the faithful followers, is most definitely coming to a close.

(Note for Millennial Dramface readers regarding the above paragraph: I'm guessing that your reference might be to something like Leeroy Jenkins? But I will gratefully accept any and all alternative suggestions. Gen Z, I got nothing.)

The Signatory 100 Proof range is an early harbinger of the next chapter, but I think there are plenty of other signs too. Scotch has always pushed the boat out during the boom times and had to suffer the consequences during the ensuing downturn. I don't expect it to be any different this time around - why change a two hundred year habit?

That slowdown is reflected in what I've heard from Campbeltown and Islay for their respective Malts Festival and Fèis Ìle. I haven't been to Campbeltown since the before times (2017 to be precise), and it's a couple of years since my last Fèis, but the word from those I talk to is that things are quieter this year. No auction vans hanging about. No need to queue to get the specials. Fewer familiar faces to share a dram with. Today's review bottle, in point of fact, came my way because a friend ended up with a spare, because he'd been offered the same bottle by two people who had spares, and was too polite to decline. Perhaps it's telling that I hadn't even commissioned anyone who was going to the Wee Toon to bring me a bottle. Perhaps subconsciously I had done those whisky geek sums and decided I could safely pass. Changed days indeed.

Of course, when you see the bottle in the flesh and glass, all that goes out the window. It's only thirty-five quid! And it's Springbank! (Question: Is 35cl the new 50cl? The actual cash outlay is a bit less, and it lets us explore those flavours we're all so interested in more easily. Yes, I know it's more work for the distillers or bottlers for no more money, and it works out somewhat more expensive for the drinker, but ultimately producers need to present their wares in a format that will make the consumers say, "aye, go on then". If that means less money per sale, but at least sales are ongoing, then it's no bad thing in my opinion.

Who would, in their right mind, turn down a limited Springbank? Not me. And I'm glad I didn't. My first reaction was not positive, but with a little air and time the bottle has truly woken up and is doing all the things we look for in Springbank.

Which leads me to today's other theme: the neckpour.

Also known as how-a-bottle-evolves-as-you-drink-it. I'm very glad the bottle has evolved as it has, because otherwise this whole piece would have been gloom gloom gloom. "You can't always judge a bottle by the first taste - neckpours are real!" I'd guess that half of the attendees at any given whisky tasting would nod along with that statement, and the other half would snort and shake their heads.

It's one of these somewhat unresolvable debates that has been thrashed out for as long as there have been whisky opinion pieces. I am firmly on the side of those who say that neckpours are most definitely a thing. And I'd add to that my opinion that the majority of whiskies get better after the neckpour. Maybe that's because I have a personal preference for flavours that involve oxidation, or perhaps it's that I tend to drink mainly cask strength whiskies with added water, so it takes me a dram or two or...ahem...four to calibrate for the sweet spot.

Ah, you say, but doesn't that mean we can't learn anything useful by going to a tasting, or a festival, because the drams are fresh pours, the whole bottle probably rinsed half way through a session and onto the next one, fresh again. Well, I'd suggest that there are plenty of whiskies, particularly at 40 or 46%, that don't exhibit the neckpour effect. When I do see it, it's generally cask strength, single cask rather than batch, and often, but not always, older whiskies. And in any case, resources like Dramface can help there. The recent discussion about the dangers of the 3cl sample is a very good case in point.

And finally, to a personal rule of mine at the other end of the bottle: no heeltaps! The heel of a bottle, I firmly believe, ought to be poured into a mini. It'll keep a bit longer that way, or you can give it to someone so they get to enjoy the same whisky. And don't wait for the last 3cl, make it a 5 or 10cl; dregs can flatten out in a month if you ask me.

Not that I expect to have that problem with today's review bottle.

Review

Springbank 10yo Open Day 2025, Ex-bourbon and re-charred sherry casks, 2,000 bottles, 35cl, 57.9% ABV
£35 paid

Nose

The initial pour was bang average, sad to say. I couldn't see any funk, and it just seemed like a quiet wee plain malt whisky.

A second pour this evening is much more promising: Oh aye, here we are, that's a J&A Mitchell dram. The unmistakable Campbeltown goût. Or almost unmistakable. Sometimes it pops up in indie bottled Highland Park-slash-Orkney. And anyway, I'm rubbish at blind tastings.

But yeah, today I know what I'm drinking and I can confirm that it tastes the way it ought to: there's old wood and slightly smoky caramel, but as if you cooked the sugar and water for the caramel over one of these wee funnel stoves that you can feed dried grass into, so that the toffee is somehow both smoky and grassy. With time there's oak spice too. I guess that's the re-charred wood speaking.

With lots of water: it still smells great. Not watery. Lots of grassiness. Lighter, because of the dilution, and heading in the direction of Kilkerran.

Palate

On the initial pour last night it was affa quiet. Clean and sweet. It's fine, but that's all. Also, it was rather hot at full strength. Tonight on the palate I'm finding a wee bit of iron. Rust. There's a difference when you've been using new tools, versus those that you inherited from your grandparent. That. The old, inherited tools. Also like last night, at full strength it is hot.

With water it is still trying to pick a fight with me. There's a bitter note, like cinder toffee (aka the innards of a Crunchie). Oh, hang on, now it's funky like parmesan. Is that a wee touch of propionic acid? Or butyric? Definitely something stinky, at any road. Oh wait, now it's floral. A spicy floral, something like carnation, maybe night scented stock. Not as sweet as a peony rose, but definitely as lush as one.

That's quite the bouquet; there's lots going on here.

Leaving it to breathe for a while works well. It becomes sweet and gently spicy (allspice), and now I'm also finding lots of dried fruit. Sultanas, really juicy ones. Mixed peel as you'd use for Christmas cake, but only the really sweet ones (no bitter orange here). In the finish it's surprisingly clean or fresh for a Springer, and I can finally see some coconut from the bourbon casks, along with more of those iron or rust notes.

The Dregs

My goodness, once I've spent a bit of time with it, that is proper Springer. Past the neckpour, add a bit of water, and hoohah! That's the boy! I'm reminded of the 12 Year Old Cask Strength, although I'd need to have a good old rummage in the notebooks to figure out which one. The 12, like this dram, doesn't always get on with me initially. There's generally a bit of back and forth to find the comfort zone, the sweet spot.

Since these first two drams I've revisited it twice more, and yeah, patience is a virtue. This is indeed good stuff, once you've found the sweet spot.

If one of these comes your way, and you are a Springbank fan or want to get to know Springbank, this is an easy yes. To be honest I think I'm drinking it diluted to something like the same strength as the standard Ten Year Old, and it's not too far from the Ten stylistically, so you could go for that instead. But with this one you have the fun of playing about with the strength.

And so, no need to agree with me on the neckpours, but for me it’s a thing. And while we may be heading for some industry doldrums, the bottleneck we face means there’s plenty of new whisky out there for the canny drinker, quietly waiting for us - plentiful and probably at better prices.

Score: 6/10 FM

Review 2/2 - Wally

Springbank 10yo Open Day 2025, Ex-bourbon and re-charred sherry casks, 2,000 bottles, 35cl, 57.9% ABV
£35 paid

After enjoying such a nice, thoughtful write up by Felix, I’m feeling like words from me can only lower the tone. But I wanted to chime in with my own thoughts on Campbeltown this year - specifically the festival - and I’ve always got an opinion on neckpours!

I’ve only attended a couple of trips down the Peninsula for the annual Campbeltown Malts Festival in May, so I’m not the best judge of how it’s developed over the years; especially the recent years of maniacal fervour for everything J&A Mitchell flavoured.

If, for the purposes of today’s bottle, we focus on the Springbank Open Day alone, to my eye it was resplendent.

Always held on the Thursday, it follows Glen Scotia’s Wednesday and precedes Glengyle’s Friday. The week rounds out with a courtyard extravaganza at Watt Whisky on the Saturday, where a rotation of independent distillers and bottlers gather to share and sell their wares. I think this could be developed into something bigger, but venues and motivation need to both be in place. It’s a great day.

Anyway, the Thursday this year was the pick of the week for weather. The sun was out and boy - did it shine on Well Close. There was little in the way of queueing anywhere (unless you wanted to rattle that cage in the Springbank shop) and the music was as buoyant and plentiful as the pours. People were sharing everything right, left and centre with particular glee evident when they spotted an empty glass: “Here, try this!”.

Aromas of grilled food, cigar smoke and sun cream filled the air. I pinched myself on more than one occasion “you’re happy; this is happy!”.

I know I wasn’t alone in this. Maybe, just maybe we gave a second thought to the fact it wasn’t as busy as we expected, or that one or two familiar faces didn’t travel this year, but I don’t really think so. It was vibrant and full without being crammed. The organisers even had one or two extra spaces at the occasional tasting for late arrivals and hangers on. We didn’t wait too long for food, or cold beers, or drams. It was a perfect whisky day.

Close to the end of the festivities, when we eventually decided to go and check out the Open Day bottle sales, all were still available. I picked up this; I’d tried it and knew it was a no-brainer. I felt the Longrow was good and warranted a buy, but the Hazelburn was a bit pricey. I bought an extra bottle of this Springbank instead. Always good for a gift or for someone who didn’t make it. Once more; no rush, no scrum, just how it should be.

Felix enjoys the 35cl format, and while I don’t mind it, there’s still a part of me that would’ve been happier if it was a 70cl for £70. With a yield of 1,000 bottles, I wonder if that would have been enough on the day? Maybe not.

Anyway, it’s a pretty little thing and easy to cart around in a jacket pocket. Also, kudos to J&A Mitchell for making a pull-tab apparent under the wax seal - it’s easy to get into.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Takes water - no; it needs it - but it really comes alive*

Nose

White pepper and effervescence; sweet grapes and pears. Grassy too, like lawnmower mulch and distant silage. Maple syrup, clear toffee. Hunting for smoke; it’s also distant.

With water the fruit ripens to melon flesh and peaches, the grassiness goes a little vinous and a lovely, seaside mineralic tone appears. The spice is subdued a little but it’s utterly identifiable as Campbeltown whisky.

Palate

Springbank! The pepper and chilli heat of the arrival does subside to reveal a fruit-forward, coastal glass of teleportation. It fizzes and whirls with vivid familiarity. I’m right back in the Springbank courtyard. It’s a little shouty, so let’s focus on adding a splash.

With water; elegant and bold at the same time. Still a little fizzy, acidic and bright, with those tart grapes and stone fruits slightly sweetened. The body is lighter but it amplifies that elegance. To all intents and purposes, this is ex-bourbon Springer. As you’d expect, the re-charred sherry casks haven’t offered much in the way of a previous incumbent and for that I’m grateful - this is pure Springbank.

Upon licking the glass clean there’s a puff of gentle, savoury smoke.

The Dregs

As I sit with this, I could easily be cajoled into an 8/10. But it does demand just a little extra TLC and, as such, is very much a special edition in its character. It’s like anything handmade; you are encouraged to fouter and fettle it to make it more personal to you.

As Felix has touched upon, this feels a lot like a cask strength version of the core 10 year old. All that fruit and funk and density is there to play in, as long as you’re happy to grab a teaspoon and add a little water. It’s spicy at bottle strength and, while it’s drinkable, adding a splash and taking a breath brings everything into vivid focus. It is a seriously potent argument for adding water to whisky.

Which is weird. Because my neckpour experience, while also profound, was very different to that of my buddy Felix. I opened this on a night after I enjoyed a couple of souvenirs from my trip with a whisky pal. We both felt that it poured thick and creamy and delicious - straight from the neck. On that night, after whatever drinks we’d enjoyed and food we’d eaten, it was not hot. In fact, it took all of our mettle to not grab another pour.

Good school-night sense and side-eyes from our significant others might have helped our resolve, but my point stands that this neckpour, in this moment, was splendid. It’s often not only the bottle, it’s often us. Isn’t it always?

Tonight, however, the cask strength heat is demonstrated to me as I sit to put together these notes. It’s not too hot, not at all, it’s just transformative with a few drops of whatever clean water you have at hand.

Our world may indeed seem to be in a perilous state, with evermore incredulous developments spun daily. Sometimes, in the scenarios that unfold, it’s difficult to find any silver linings. But, in Felix’s parochial but comforting niche that is whisky, suddenly being able to access our favourites again is surely one.

I hope I’m mindful enough to take time with treats like these and be grateful that there are pals out there with spare bottles to share.

Also, neckpours are real.

Score: 7/10 WMc

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. FM

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