Review #734 - Springbank 14 Year Bourbon Wood

Written By Me, My Wife & Whisky

Springbank matures their spirit in a wide variety of casks, everything from Port to red wine, rum to Madeira and many different types of sherry, but perhaps the most common cask type they use is ex-bourbon casks. These often show off the raw distillate most effectively, as the flavors they contribute are lighter and more subtle.

Here we have Springbank's 14 year old Bourbon Wood release from 2017, which uses ex-bourbon casks exclusively. It's a combination of first fill and refill casks, which means the harsher spirity notes should be rounded off nicely, but we should still get plenty of that distillate character in the background. This single malt was bottled at an elevated strength of 55.8% ABV, too, so those flavors should be in no short supply.

Springbank 14 Year Bourbon Wood

Scotland/Campbeltown - Single Malt

Price: USD 370 (2025, based on recent auction results)

Age Statement: 14 Years

Strength: 55.8% ABV

Cask Makeup: First fill and refill ex-bourbon casks

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled November 2002, bottled August 2017; 9,000 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 1 month from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: A bit spicy up front, with anise, licorice, and sassafras scents. There's an earthy note in the background, which is accented by soft peat and a bit of a floral side. Malt, heathery notes, and cola reside in the background; then it's cream soda, white grape, yellow apple, and buttered croissants. There's just a hint of an umami side, too - a complex nose.

Palate: Wood spice, licorice, anise, and some savory mushroom flavors; wood smoke, light to medium peat smoke, root beer, and cola. Raisin and tart, tangy stone fruit like nectarine bring a fruity side; butterscotch and honey bring more sweetness. The texture is very good, with a medium-thick mouthfeel.

Finish: Spicy yet again with pepper and anise, lots of cooking spices. It's a bit effervescent due to the peat, but also some fizzy orchard fruits: yellow apple and green apple, lots of honeyed pear. Hints of hay and sweet grain hint at that malty character, and we get lemon-lime soda in the aftertaste. It's a medium-long finish.

Final Note: This is a classic ex-bourbon Springbank, and while there are plenty of light, sweet notes from those bourbon casks, we also got a distinctly spicy side across the full tasting. Lots of anise and pepper with a nice hint of peat to bring some sharpness, but that was mellowed out by light fruits and lots of baking notes. Great complexity, as usual with this distillery - this one was a treat.

Value these days isn't great due to the high price for older Springbank bottlings on the secondary market, but we highly recommend trying this bottle if you do get the chance.

Our Rating: 8.0 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 4.50

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Me, My Wife & Whisky
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