THE DISADVANTAGES OF THE ADVANTAGES – Score: 6/10
Years follow one another but are not alike, and this is even more true at Springbank, where production is seasonal (at least for expressions aged fifteen years and above).
The 2022 version was a great success and remains in memory as one of the most accomplished. Let us see, therefore, if its successor will be up to par.
Gone are the chocolate notes of the previous version; the profile is much more vinous and heady. Notes of Marmite and molasses largely dominate, still overlaid with Springbank’s typical smoke.
The finish is strongly peppery and carries the bitterness of dry wood. We are well below the quality of the 2022 vintage. This version is far too unbalanced and bitter to enchant us.
