Springbank 5yo 100º Proof
New Official Core Release 2025 | 57.1% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Not easy to recommend, but very easy to rationalise and enjoy. I bet it ends up an 8.
Suckers for Scarcity
There has been much chitchat in recent times about prices becoming reasonable once more. We wait to be convinced; but it’s true there are lots of deals and discounts on the go.
We’re not sure what’s happening behind the scenes, but whether driven by retailers or subsidised by producers - perhaps a bit of both - some of us have been quick to take advantage of these offers.
There are signs from some producers that they’re aware of what the punters are willing to pay; of where that retail ‘sweet-spot’ sits, which is nice to see even if it’s only occasional. After all, we buy with our own money and none of us on the Dramface team - as far as I’m aware - are particularly plush. I mean, we are capable of loyalty - definitely support your independent retailer and all that - but often, when a deal comes along, we’re anyone’s.
With the bottle in hand today you could suggest a discussion around price is daft. We can’t buy it and there’s so much else to talk about such as: the branding, the homage, the age statement, the strength, the fact it’s a new arrival to Springbank’s core armoury - all of that and more. Yet, I choose to hop atop the price soap box again. Wally’s becoming a dull boy? Maybe he always has been.
I want to ask the simple and obvious - at first - question: Is this shiny new 5yo from Mitchell’s worth almost as much as their ten year old?
But before I get to that, let me stand up for everyone in our whisky community today and talk a little about our pragmatism and our wisdom; especially our ability to apply perspective and context when it comes to price. We’re not actually after cheap whisky.
A good illustration I have for this might be the recent Ardnahoe Inaugural - a five year old that was stated as such and priced at £70. Cards on the table, the linked review is mine and I raved about the bottle, scoring it an 8/10.
I’ve since re-read the review and reflected upon it versus my relationship with that same bottle today and, as you might imagine, I’ve changed my mind a little. I think - in the hyperbole of that original review - I actually held back a little. Today, I think it deserves more fanfare. It really is Something special.
So, I’m speaking about a 5 year old whisky that I paid £70 for. In many other reviews, you’ll hear me complain about how £60 is too expensive for a ten or twelve year old. Something doesn’t match up.
Here’s where we rely on the experience and understanding of the knowledgeable whisky folk out there. They understand why one is seen as ‘fair’ while another is seen as ‘expensive’.
I’m drawn to comparing it with how we might choose to buy whisky. If we really do step up and put our money (and time) where our mouth is and support-our-local-retailers, we know it might take a little effort and we know it will likely cost a little more, but we understand why. We like that they exist and we love the service they offer; a welcoming shop in which to dwell and browse costs more than a rack and pallet warehouse. Hopefully, we see this as worth a little more; along with the intel, up-to-date tips and relationship building. It’s not how much it costs; it’s how much mutual value is perceived.
If you’re like me, you may reflect and sometimes feel a little guilty about buying from online retail - either due to a bout of sedentary laziness in choosing mouse clicks over a short bus ride, or because we know it’s a sale your local specialist won’t see. But I settle myself with this. I still prioritise bricks and mortar and I tend to only go online when the things I’m after aren't available locally. Also, most local retailers offer delivery these days anyway. Win-win.
If I were to be completely honest, however, I sometimes buy online simply because the price is too good to miss. I’m really not sure if I’m in the majority with this approach and I know it reads as very UK-centric (I don’t know how to write from anywhere else), but it feels like something to which most of us will relate. So, know that if you’re the type who’ll search out the absolute cheapest way to get a hold of something - I’m not judging, not at all. Yet most eventually work out that the cost of something is usually not limited to what’s on the price tag.
It would be silly to compare the cost of a Johnnie Walker Black 12yo from Glasgow’s Good Spirits Company in the city centre against Jeff Bezos’s Big House of Far Too Much Cardboard. Or Tesco’s hilarious wait-for-the-label-to-go-yellow; we wouldn’t expect them to be the same price. However, when we see a 5 year old age statement on a malt whisky, are we too quick to compare it, like-for-like, with others just because of sharing the same age? I think we often are. Perhaps because they’re few and far between? Maybe, as is often the case, when I say ‘we’ I really mean ‘me’.
Go for it - try to list in your head the 5 year old malts you know. What comes to mind? Well, the Ardnahoe surely, I’ve just reminded you about that. Next? Ardbeg’s Wee Beastie. A shoe-in. But other than that things get a little more obscure. There was a complete set of four 5yo Meikle Tòir releases from Glenallachie, some of which are still available. We know Ardnamurchan’s AD/ Series tends to be in that age range and we do have quite a few Octomore releases at five years old and a plethora of indies, but in terms of core range, the single digit ‘5’ seems to be a brave and very rare step. You may even argue that, actually, it’s an odd strategy.
We’re sticking to single malt here, in an attempt to compare apples for apples, I suppose. There are of course much cheaper blends and indy malts, but official malt prices run from £32 up to, well, a lot more. Up to and over £150 in the case of Octomore. For something a mere five years old.
So it’s not just the risk of the perception of a 5 year whisky being seen as far too young, it can often seem far too expensive. Yet, the cost of maturation, year-by-year, isn’t the majority of expense in a typical whisky release; actually making the thing in the first place demands the bulk of the cost. Therefore, a five year old is never going to be half the price of a ten.
Still, we naturally compare like-for-like. But we need to remember some other factors. At just over two million litres (LPA) per annum, Ardbeg is not a massive distillery, but it’s double the size of Ardnahoe, which is double the size of Ardnamurchan, which is double the size of Springbank. Scale is most definitely a factor. Then there’s the availability.
Ardbeg is very popular, as is Ardnamurchan, and there’s plenty of it. Ardnahoe is pretty new and Springbank is pretty hot, so there’s less of it. This is no doubt factored in when we make our judgement on price too, probably subconsciously. And finally, we’ll have a generally well-informed idea of what the expected quality is. Either because we’re well-travelled whisky botherers, or because we enjoy the opinions of others that seem like they are.
Finally, we need to look at how the bottle specs might impact the price. No one can expect a cask-strength or higher ABV release to sell for the same price as a 46% bottling where there’s less ‘whisky’ and more water inside. I suppose my point to all of this is - if you’re reading Dramface - none of this is a surprise to you.
Now, imagine the scenario - as unlikely as it may be - where a casual customer is browsing a retail shelf and happens upon the Springbank selection (funny, I know). Upon comparing the 10 year old to the 15 year old they can see the difference in price and immediately appreciate the cost of an additional five years of maturation. Then they see this 5 year old and immediately have to ask why it’s almost the same price as the 10yo sitting next to it. It would seem this could be a tricky concept to ask a retailer to ‘sell’ to said punter. So, for any producer, it’s an odd release to add to your core range, don’t you think?
And, I mean, surely they could have made it cheaper?
The obvious comparison would be the Wee Beastie because, unlike the other examples I listed above, that release slid nicely under an existing range that had a 10yo 46% expression as its flagship - the same as Springbank. Today, Ardbeg’s 5yo is usually sold for £10-20 cheaper than its older sibling, but some of you were around when it launched - selling out despite originally being priced higher than their 10yo.
It would seem we have a similarly odd scenario here with this J&A Mitchell release. Despite being within a fiver of the retail price of the 10 year old, it has completely evaporated from shelves - leaving the ten and others from the most recent outturn sitting on shelves. Okay, not for weeks, not even for days, but certainly for a few hours. Something we’ve not seen with Springbank since pre-pandemic years.
So, it seems there are a couple of other things to factor into our supposedly rational way of assessing value: our own excitement in the new and the shiny - and the awareness of scarcity.
We know there’s not a lot of this around. To many, the value, the price, the cost - however we describe it - doesn’t matter. It is crushed out by the ‘want’.
This new release is an homage to bottles of old, yes. It’s also a brand new addition to Springbank’s ‘core range’, even if it’ll be like the 12 Year Old Cask Strength with occasional releases only, we might consider it as such. Apart from the recent Longrow 100º Proof, there hasn’t been such a thing in a long time, especially with a Springbank branded label. But more importantly, it’s a product born of scarcity.
It’s something that has come about because, actually, we’ve been asking for it; some might suggest shouting for it. Because for years we’ve been asking Mitchell’s to increase the production of Springbank et al. Try as they might, this is something that is much more challenging than it might be at most other distilleries.
All it takes is a quick read of the rear label to remind ourselves of the - as of yet - unique nature of Springbank, where malting to bottling is carried out at the distillery; for all its releases. I am of the firm belief that this is the primary reason that Springbank, and other brands made there, taste so unique. Especially with those oh-so-special malt floors.
And so, they’ve tried to do the smart thing and release a 5yo to alleviate some of the pressures of demand. But wait, doesn’t that mean they’re cannibalising on the future availability of the 10 year old and upwards? Well, yes of course it does.
But you see, in response to that rising demand, Springbank has already made considerable strides to increase production, even before the stupidity of the pandemic years where their products were mined like Bitcoins. They increased capacity throughout their production processes - malt floors to bottling. To the point that they’re now having to build new warehousing as well as shifting elements - such as their bottling hall and dry storage - to reclaim some dunnage space too.
That extra stock has been quietly maturing since these changes have been put in place and it would seem they now have the depth of stock to start meeting those demands from today, albeit with a 5yo; while those deeper stocks mature towards more of the higher age statements being made available.
Of course, I hope that’s the case. I don’t have any direct insight behind the curtains down on Well Close. I’m just doing as you might - looking at things from a punter’s perspective. And, while I do so, I also want to shift a little and keep that rationale in focus, wear my Dramface hat, and ask myself (all of us?) is this worth it?
You may - rightly - argue that it’s a moot point as every bottle is about as within reach as Scottish sunshine in August, but it still needs to be asked. Some folks managed to get this and - thanks to the relationship, trust, endeavour and sheer existence of the aforementioned independent local retailer - I was one of them.
Review
Springbank 5yo, 100º Proof Series, 2025 release, 100% ex-bourbon barrels, 57.1% ABV
£49.50 Good luck out there.
Full disclosure, I had a wee sip of this ahead of taking these pictures and instantly decided it was “Good stuff” and therefore registered a mental Dramface 6/10. I don’t feel like that today.
I’ve sat with a glass and taken initial notes and I’m struck by how bloody nice it is. At first it was simple, but now it’s stretching - revealing itself. It’s very nice. Not just for a five year old, but for a £50 bottle of malt.
Sipping it by itself, in isolation, it’s a well-made testament to excellent Scotch whisky. I’ll pour another tonight, perhaps compare it and adjust as necessary, but with a clean daytime palate, I can really get behind this. I’m willing to bet that at some point in the distant future, as the bottle empties, it’ll end up an 8.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Not easy to recommend, but very easy to rationalise and enjoy. I bet it ends up an 8.
Nose
Immediately outdoors-y in character; a clean saltiness, with linen and wind-blown hayfields. There’s creamy oats and malt, like Horlicks. Pollen too. Yellow orchard fruit. Bags of malty sweetness: sugar syrup, coconut marshmallows, custard creams. There’s a green, minty note too like a freshly opened box of After Eights.
Water adds to the ripeness of the yellow fruits and reveals a sweet, lemony citrus. I look for smoke, it’s there but subtle to the point of easy-to-miss.
Palate
Disarming. Clean and oily with vanilla and cream soda. A salty and sweet arrival brings a hint of fizz from lemons and pale-yellow fruits; Japanese pears and unripe honeydew melon. There’s a farmyard mulch, like a damp barn or warm hay mulch. Soft peppermint, white pepper too, with distant liquorice.
A touch of water softens everything. This won’t be a surprise, but it’s supercharged and enhanced by a little reduction. The fruit is amplified but it also brings out a little mineral edge and a soft roundness - without impacting the weight or texture.
The Dregs
After a glass or two, I reached for a Springbank 10 year old that’s been open a while and, in the glaring light of direct comparison, the youth of the new release was immediately obvious. But here’s the funny thing; after I’d drained both glasses, the one I reached for a second pour of was the 5yo. The purity of spirit drew me in. The silky texture and the heft of it, the simple focus alongside the odd pleasure of licking it off my teeth, were what the mood called for.
I should be clear and state that, depending on who you are and how far you’ve travelled along whisky’s tasty road of discovery, this might not be easy to recommend. Given the quality and the enjoyment of the Springbank 10yo, if you were faced with the choice between these two, I may push you to reach for the ten. But, assuming you’re well-versed, and perhaps you’re lucky enough to have a wee bottle of the older option on hand already, then please, fill your boots - if you’re fortunate to find it at the intended price.
Given the scale and the reach of today’s Dramface readership, and the unlikeliness of many of you getting close to this, the humane thing to do would be to score it an expensive 4/10 and advise you all not to bother. But I’d be betraying you, myself and the whisky and everything else that swirls around the liquid that’s somehow permitted to exist in Campbeltown, seemingly against all odds.
It makes perfect sense that this has been added to the core range. It makes perfect sense that it’s half the age and almost 25% more ABV. It only takes a beat for us to understand that the price also makes sense. The question of whether it’s worth it or not is arguably the only thing that doesn’t make sense; because the vast majority of us faced with the opportunity to buy it at £49 are simply going to do so.
Sometimes, our rationale and emotional motivations are not easy to explain or justify.
Only through experience and knowledge, gained through endeavour and - perhaps - married to a little thrill and excitement at something new, shiny and alluring, can we discover an understanding why this 5 year old is, actually, good value. We’re in it for the pure joy - all of it.
Life’s too short for cheap whisky. I’d always prefer good whisky, pitched fairly. There are, thankfully, places out there that focus solely on this.
But they’re scarce.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. WMc
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Other opinions on this:
Springbank’s own promo video for the release
Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.
