Springbank 15 Year Old Duty Free Trade Sample Cadenhead’s 75cl

Originally based in Aberdeen before being bought by the Campbeltown based Mitchell family in 1969, Wm Cadenhead’s is the oldest independent bottler in Scotland. Now their flagship Campbeltown premises - located next to the Springbank distillery - also features their own shop offering a variety of bottled spirits from different distilleries.

Continuity is the watchword at Springbank. This distillery has been in the ownership of the Mitchell family and its ancestors since 1837. Indeed, as its founder William Reid was related to the Mitchells by marriage, so you could argue that they were there from the very start. It was in 1828 that Reid took out a licence, but there was already a rich and extensive heritage of illicit distillation in the Kintyre Peninsula. Like many smugglers, Reid didn’t survive long once he joined the legitimate trade and in 1837 he sold to his in-laws John and William Mitchell. The latter brother left in 1872, at which point John’s son Alexander joined Springbank (hence the J&A Mitchell still on the label).

Springbank was mothballed between 1979 to 1987. On reopening, owner Hedley Wright [John Mitchell’s great-great grandson] made the momentous decision to no longer sell to blenders, but develop single malt sales. Maltings were re-opened in 1992 and while the combination of managing limited stocks – the result of the mothballed period and somewhat over-eager sales of what was left – it has taken a number of years to get the Springbank range fully balanced

This Springbank was bottled as a “duty free sample for trade purposes only”, before there was such a thing as ‘The Cage’. The original cage was located in the back of Cadenhead’s shop in Campbeltown. The whisky in this bottle was produced before the distillery was mothballed in 1979.

Springbank

Bottled: 1989

Age: 15 Years Old 

Cask Type: Sherry Wood

Cask Number: 229

46% ABV / 75cl

Please note condition of bottle and labels.

Please examine all images of the lot, any packaging and labels carefully and satisfy yourself as to their condition before making a bid.