Lassie's top 12 countdown of 2016 - Number 8 Springbank 16 tradesies

So last year in Campbeltown Graham and I met these two guys: Vit and Damian. They made our couple of days at Springbank probably the most memorable of the entire trip. Between the four of us you had a full bowl of "crazy". Several times I found myself clutching my ribs because I had laughed so much. It was an awesome time. 2016 came along, and Graham would not be travelling to Scotland with me this time. Vit got a hold of me on facebook and asked if we would be at the Campbeltown Festival and I responded with a no. I told him what my plans were, where I would be going and it didn't coincide with their annual trip back to the festival. Bummer....

A few months later, Vit messaged me again to let me know that he had been lucky enough to procure a few bottles of the newly released Springbank 16 Local Barley and the best part, he was willing to save me a bottle for Graham. We just needed to figure out how to get it to me. I wasn't worried about it as the # whiskyfabric comes through in mysterious ways. I didn't tell Graham and was hoping to surprise him. About a month later, I was fortunate enough to arrange a few days in London with my friends Dave & Kiat Worthington, this would allow me to travel with Kat (their daughter) to Scotland and make arrangements to see Vit & Dave. I was super excited! 

Vit accepting his Lot 40

I wanted to make sure I did something really nice for Vit, so while I was visiting Don Livermore in Windsor he made a customized bottle of Lot 40 for him on my behalf. I also brought over a few other bottles of Canadian whisky for consumption purposes ;)

The day came where I got to play tourist and Dave was kind enough to be my guide in London, yet once more. We contacted a few people and had a meet up at the SMWS. I had a fantastic evening with the lot of them. Drams were shared, bottles exchanged and once again my sides hurt from laughing so much. Vit and Dave, were... as crazy as ever. 

The Springbank 16 Local Barley traveled with me for 3 weeks all over Scotland and as tempted as I was to break it open, I didn't. When I arrived home, I unpacked my luggage and presented Graham with the bottle. He was super excited. "Can we open it!!!?", I yelled...  "No", was the answer. I spent the next two months asking on a regular basis if we could open it yet and the answer was NO...  Groan....

I eventually gave up knowing Graham would open it in his own time. The moment finally came when the bottle came up from the basement and the cork was popped! Drams were poured among friends and we enjoyed the whisky. Great discussion, good friends and a fantastic Springbank -> What more could we possibly want. This time though, I TOOK NOTES!  hehe

Springbank 16 Local Barley, 54.3% ABV.

Colour: Golden sunshine

Nose: Springbank at its finest: Damp earth, tomato plant leaves, with a hint of diesel fuel or refinery by-products.

Palate: Sweet, slightly smoky with that distinctive peppery and oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Not as long as some of the other Springbanks I love, but this is warming, spicy and quite satisfying.

This Springbank is a well balanced, delicious dram and other than some of the drams I've had straight out of the barrel at the distillery (There's nothing better than hearing Gavin sing: "Baby your a firework!", this is the best Springbank I've ever had... so far ;)

There's something quite special about knowing people in the #whiskyfabric. There are so many times when simple conversations lead to lasting friendships. An enquiry on Facebook such as, as anyone tried "this" yet, leads to a sample offer. Where the announcement of a trip turns into 12 people going to a festival together for a week. It's what I love so much about being Whiskylassie.

Me.... and "auto correct" Dave!

Thank you Vit for thinking of Graham when this bottle came to the market. It's not something we would have ever seen here. I hope you enjoy the Canadian whiskies I brought over and that I get to see you and Damian again someday soon!

Lassie...

Aye rrrrrrrrrroll on MacDuff, Day 15 of the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar

"Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself. Within my sword's length set him", Macduff in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

I always think of Macbeth when I see anything from the MacDuff distillery. So as I bounded back up the stairs this morning with sample bottle in hand, it apparently did not amuse Graham that I was jabbing him in the ribs with my "pretend" sword, totally bastardizing the English language and quoting this line from the play. Sheeeesh... some people don't have a sense of humour at 6:20am on a random Thursday!? Aye.... but it's not a random Thursday, it's day 15 and sure enough my dram today is from the Malt Whisky Co... a MacDuff 16 year old. 

I've had this whisky a few times but what I didn't remember and Graham reminded me this afternoon is that one of my other discoveries for 2016 (great bang for your buck whisky) that is made by MacDuff is the Deveron 12 that I received as a gift twice this year!! 

I poured a little in my NEAT glass and proceeded to nose and take a very small sip. This is clearly some high strength stuff. I was a bit surprised as it took my breath away. Mental note: Remember to add water later when I get home, check! What followed was the same routine for the last week: Go to work, put out fires (and no I'm not a firefighter), train new staff, forget to eat at break and feel like my brain is pudding by the time 5:00pm rolls around. Today, however, I felt like there was an end to the long tunnel, as tomorrow is the weekend....

Home again, home again, kick the shoes off, get into comfy clothes and put my feet up in my lovely armchair! Whisky in glass, notes are taken and I hurry up to get our supper started. Satiated with homemade chicken noodle soup and a thick grill cheese sandwich, I happily sit down in my corner once more to simply STOP... If anything I have to say this advent calendar has given me that freedom every day and it's lovely to just sit, relax and enjoy a nice dram.

The Malt Whisky Co. MacDuff 16 year old, 54.9% ABV, refill Hogshead cask #500720

Colour: Noticing a trend here with all of these "natural" whiskies, not much colour. This is a lovely white gold

Nose: White Stilton cheese with mango and ginger! (Yes there is such a cheese on the market). It's slightly salty, spicy and fruity. Quite nice really.

Palate: There is a recipe I make that is called puffed pancake with an orange sauce. It's rich and is sweet but tangy. Delish!

Finish: I think this has the longest finish of all the whiskies so far. Sweet, slightly hot... Reminds me of hot cinnamon candies and it really stays with you for quite some time.

Another cracker of a dram if I do say so myself. I really enjoyed this one. As always I urge you to see what Jonathan thought of today's dram by checking out: 

www.singlemalting.com

If you like the sounds of how this nosed/tasted... you might want to contact Jonathan to see if this is coming to Canada. 

With only 10 days left, it's hard to imagine what might be left in the calendar but my level of excitement grows as we get closer to the final dram on the 25th. I've had hints it's an amazing, once in a lifetime, unicorn whisky!!

Now... if you'll excuse me, Benoit I've done my good deed for today. I finished my dram, my blog and now I get to put my feet up and read my latest edition of Distilled Magazine which just arrived!

Cheers all...

Lassie