At Spirits in the Sky I was able to try the latest achievement of Michiel Wigman: a 30 year old Springbank. It comes with an official Springbank label but also with his own ‘Friends’ backlabel.
Let’s not forget Michiel started as a Springbank collector in his early days, thirty years ago. He became known as Mr. Springbank. Apparently he bought the cask with a good friend, as a young whisky of around 3 years of age. He held onto it until now.
Springbank 30 yo 1993 (52,4%, OB for Michiel Wigman & Jan-Jan de Bruijne 2023, cask #157, 210 btl.)
Nose: lots of oily notes (I’ll go for teak oil and rapeseed oil), beach pebbles, raw wool and canvas. Then subtle stewed fruits in the background, say oranges and raisins. Subtle beachwood smoke, a little tobacco, dried herbs and wax candles. Sharpness and roundness combined: pretty perfect for a 30 year old Springer.
Mouth: more smoky notes now, alongside tense coastal notes, wax, rubbed lemons, a drop of seawater and hints of seaweed. Still a warm fruity layer in the background, with some dried papaya and herbal honey. Hints of chalk. Also wild herbs and mineral notes until the end.
Finish: long, on citrus peels and verbena, a wee peaty and salty note and a round hint of honey.
In brief: a classic Springbank profile, full of tiny notes and still offering a glorious mix of mineral funk, fruits and gentle peat. This bottle is available from his own website. Not exactly cheap, of course.