Springbank Open Day 2026 & Longrow Open Day 2026

Springbank Open Day 2026

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 47.8%

Price: £375.00 (35cl)

This Springbank release was bottled for the 2026 Open Day after spending 30 years in Bourbon, Oloroso & Rum casks. A total of 1,572 35cl bottles were made available.

Nose

The nose opens with pencil shavings, old wood, creme brûlée, spritziness, pineapple and a little mango. It’s got that old whisky character, soft, gentle but complex. There’s also cola cubes, damp tobacco leaves, raspberry and red apple skin. The alcohol very soft, as is the peat that’s mellowed over the 30 years of maturation. 

Palate

The palate opens with a mixture of tropical fruits, red berries and damp wood, moving into a savoury, slightly meaty tinge towards the finish. There’s pineapple, mango, banana, tobacco, apples, strawberry yoghurt and cherry jam. It’s got a good texture, lots of sweetness upfront, then transforms into more sherried fruits, tobacco, toast and then a finish of rosewater and mandarin segments. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has more of that tobacco leaf, salt water, orange zest, cola cubes, and more pronounced peat than previously. Otherwise it’s still pretty similar. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate feels more orchard fruit forward, lots of apple now, and those tobacco leaf notes are also more pronounced. There’s a warmer finish, some burnt oak and dark chocolate. We preferred it without water. 

Conclusion

Complex. A journey of sweet, savoury, slightly smoky, sour and dry, with a solid mouthfeel and good finish. We wanted to like this less, but it’s very very good. It’s at least an 8.5, maybe a 9 but we’ll be conservative.

Score: 8.5/10

Value

Definitely expensive, but sadly reasonable for a Springbank release at this age.

Longrow Open Day 2026

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 59.2%

Price: £30.00 (35cl)

This Longrow release was bottled for the 2026 Open Day after spending 5 years in Bourbon and Chardonnay casks. A total of 1,750 35cl bottles were made available.

Nose

The nose opens with lots of funk, quite a punchy pear smoke mixed with salty pebbles, sea spray and damp sand. It’s a tighter nose than we’d like, but we’re finding wood varnish, autumn leaves, and bonfire smoke. There’s also a little bread dough, yeast and barley malt.

Palate

The palate opens with a nice oily texture, fizzy lemon juice, proven bread dough, white pepper spice and a little green apple in the background. The peat is earthy, quite punchy, almost a little sour too. It’s a little warm, there’s quite a lot of spice here that tingles the tongue, but the finish does linger on for quite a while. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings much more of the peat to the front, charred oak, bonfires, dried leaves and coastal aromas. There’s also a bit of greener malt aromas, highlighting the age a bit. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has more acidity, fizzy lemon and lime, mixed with the bread dough, bonfire smoke and coastal flavours. 

Conclusion

We’d heard murmurings of unhappiness with this bottle, but that hasn’t swayed us and we think this isn’t half bad. You can definitely get quite a bit of the Chardonnay cask, but it isn’t unpleasant. For a punch of Campeltown peat, it’s good.

Score: 7/10

Value

The best value of the open day releases.

• 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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