Springbank is a whisky distillery in Campbeltown, licensed in 1828.1,2,3 The Mitchell family took it over in 1837, and J&A Mitchell & Co Ltd has owned it since 1897.1,4,5 It malts its own barley and does every step, from malting to bottling, on the same site.4,6,7
An oily, industrial Springbank with diesel, cereal, saline notes, bitter orange peel and subtle peat smoke, though it falls short of the reviewer's high…
bitter
bourbon
cereal
chalk
+13 more
By Thijs Klaverstijn
, 1926–1933
Producing, 1933–1979
Silent, 1979–1989
Producing, 1989–today
182819001950Today
Reid and the Mitchells
William Reid took out the licence, on the site of Archibald Mitchell's illicit still.1,2,3 In 1837 Reid sold it to his in-laws, the brothers John and William Mitchell.1,4,5 In 1872 the brothers' partnership ended, John Mitchell bought the distillery, and his son Alexander joined the business.4,7
Sources disagree: when John Mitchell took over. This page uses 1872.
A storm in December 1883 brought down the distillery chimneys.7 In Alfred Barnard's 1887 book, it dried its malt mainly with peat and had four malt floors, seven washbacks, three pot stills and a worm tub.8 It made 145,000 gallons a year, sold mainly in London and Glasgow.8J&A Mitchell & Co Ltd was founded in 1897 and took over the distillery.4,5 In 1904 a storm tore off part of the roof of the tun room, where the washbacks stood.7,8
The 1920s slump and after
It shut down temporarily in 1926, hit by the effects of Prohibition in the United States.4,7 Sources disagree on when production restarted, giving 1933 or 1936.4,7 In 1960 Springbank closed its maltings.4
Sources disagree: when it reopened. This page uses 1933.
In 1973 Springbank began distilling heavily peated spirit, sold as Longrow.1,9 Longrow takes its name from a lost Campbeltown distillery.1,9 Frank McHardy took over as manager in 1979, when Roy Allen retired.10 That same year Springbank was mothballed, or paused, amid the poor state of the UK economy.4,7 McHardy left in 1986 to become manager at Bushmills.10 A limited run started in 1987, and owner Hedley Wright chose to stop selling to blenders and build single malt sales.4,
Next: Longrow and a long pause, Back on the malting floor, A pause and a new ownership, Malting and fermenting, Stills and spirit
Regular production resumed in 1989 as demand for whisky began to grow.1,7
Back on the malting floor
In 1992 Springbank reopened its floor maltings.4,11 Frank McHardy returned in August 1996.10 In 1997 it first distilled Hazelburn, an unpeated, triple-distilled single malt.1,4,5
A pause and a new ownership
In 2008 it took a six-month break from production so new warehousing could be built, and it resumed in 2009.1 Long-standing chairman Hedley G. Wright died in 2023, and ownership of the company was placed into three trust funds.1,2
Malting and fermenting
Its team spreads the steeped barley on traditional malting floors and turns it at regular intervals.4,6,7 Malt for Springbank is peated to 8-10ppm and malt for Longrow to 50ppm, a measure of phenolic content; Hazelburn is unpeated.4,5,6 Kilning takes 30 to 48 hours: Springbank malt gets 6 hours of peat smoke and 30 of hot air, and Longrow 48 hours of peat smoke.4,5,6 Its water comes from Crosshill Loch.4,7,8 It has 6 wooden washbacks made of boatskin larch, where yeast turns the sugars into alcohol.4,6,7 Fermentation runs for up to 110 hours, and this long fermentation forms esters that shape the spirit's fruity notes.4,6,7
Stills and spirit
It has 1 wash still, which makes low wines, and 2 spirit stills that distil them again.4,6,7 Both kinds of still are onion-shaped.4 Unlike many distilleries, it fires its wash still with a live flame, along with steam coils; steam coils alone heat the spirit stills.4,6,12 The wash still and one spirit still use shell-and-tube condensers, and the other spirit still has a worm tub.4,7,9 Longrow's flavour comes partly from the direct-fired wash still and slow cooling through the spirit still's worm tub.4,7,9 Springbank is distilled two-and-a-half times, Longrow twice and Hazelburn three times.4,6 For the extra half, only the strongest low wines go straight to the spirit still; the rest is distilled again in a middle still first.4,6 Springbank's new spirit is described as oily and fruity.4 It can make around 750,000 litres of alcohol a year, though one report says only around 100,000 litres are distilled each year.4,12 Historic Environment Scotland lists the distillery buildings at Category B.3
Batch 292026 release12 years56.6%Review score, 8.6 out of 10