Springbank 2000, 13 Year Old, SMWS 27.106 "A boiler suit in ballet shoes"

A Springbank from what must be the most active refill bourbon cask in the history of history. And casks.

Springbank 2000, 13 Year Old, SMWS 27.106 "A boiler suit in ballet shoes", 50%

Nose: Quince jam, peat smoke and a touch of ash, too, perhaps. Hint of something herbal in the background.

Palate: Luscious, thick and oily texture. Sweet red fruit and figs. A hint of cabbage-y sulphur too, actually, which I haven't noticed on previous tastes to be honest. Salt and maybe a touch of aged balsamic.

Finish: Peat on the initial swallow, and this lingers through the sweet, thick and rather long finish as the salt becomes increasingly licorice-like.

Well, the label says refill bourbon so I guess it is, but it really is presenting a lot like an ex-sherry.
Anyway, nice "drinking" whisky. Not very complex, but it does have a lovely texture and mouthfeel.

Springbank 17 Sherry Wood (2015)

Forgive me Communist heathen Pope, it's been some time since my last entry.


Springbank 17 Sherry Wood (2015) 52.3%

Nose: Leather, ginger ale, mild and sweet heathery peat, and chocolate. After a while some fruit emerges - papaya mainly, with perhaps a hint of peach too.

Palate: Chocolate, papaya, salt, along with the ol' Springbank tells of  earth and engine oil.
Water doesn't seem to add too much, although perhaps now it serves to heighten both the sweetness and the salt.

Finish: The papaya and salt pulsate through the finish, with the chocolate reappearing before the dirty oil swirls back to the top at the death.
Water seems to add a bit of spice at the end as that increased saltiness from the palate follows through on the finish.

To be honest I was expecting more - or at least something different - from this sherried Springbank. While I have enjoyed it and it has certainly grown on me - this review is from the last quarter of the bottle - I had hoped upon release that it may be a full-sherried (first fill) experience as opposed to the largely re-fill barrel notes this seems to me to offer.