Springbank 30 Year Old (2026 Edition)

Springbank 30 Year Old (2026 Edition)

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 46.0%

Price: £895.00

The 2026 edition of Springbank’s 30 year old, bottled at 46% and matured in a combination of 85% bourbon casks and 15% sherry casks. No outturn was provided.

Nose

The nose opens with soft red fruits, honeycomb, fresh earth, orange segments, sponge cake soaked in syrup, and a saline coastal breeze. It's quite recognisable as Springbank, it's got the dunnagey warehouse funk, and seems to bounce between sweet, fruity, a little citric, earthy, slightly smoky, and rich with more brown sugars and a little yellow apple coming through. It's really quite layered and complex, you get different aromas each time you go back to the dram. There's more smoke than we'd expect for a 30 year old lightly peated whisky - it's not out of place, but it is more prominent than previous years releases.  

Palate

The palate opens with a good amount of sweetened orange and lemon juice, more honey, brown sugar caramel, maybe even the torched sugar topping of a creme brulee. There's a juiciness to the dram, it's quite fresh for 30 years, lots of orchard fruits, a handful of red berries and currants, zesty citrus, and an underlying background note of earthy, slightly savoury and vegetal peat smoke. There's a minty, menthol-like nose that appears more towards the finish, its a sweet mintiness, like spearmint polos. The mouthfeel is a tad thinner than we'd like, but we're nitpicking here - there's still enough texture to carry the flavours along with it.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings forward a deeper, richer, slightly chocolatey note now, a little black pepper, mint choc chip ice cream, and maybe even a little cured meat. The sherry casks are definitely more prominent here, although not overpowering. It does feel a little simpler now, and perhaps it's lost a little bit of complexity we enjoyed before.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has much more of that menthol, minty flavour up front, and really leans into the richer chocolatey profile. There's also some ginger juice, and a little more spice than before. The peat feels like it has receded into the background now, and like the reduced nose, it feels like it's lost some of its character.

Conclusion

We go into our yearly Springbank 30 review with excitement, and this one might just be the best in a few years. The integration and balance are on point - it feels like the 15% sherry casks in this vatting have had more than enough time to marry with the bourbon and come together as something great. It's got all of the hallmarks of an excellent Campbeltown whisky and we just wish there was more to go around.

Score: 8.5/10

Value

At over £900 it’s not cheap, but you’d be lucky if you were able to get a bottle at that price. Springbank.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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