Springbank

Springbank was founded in 1828 in Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula, once home to dozens of distilleries. It has stayed in the hands of the Mitchell family, through J & A Mitchell & Co, who also own the independent bottler Cadenhead's and the nearby Glengyle distillery.

The distillery does every step itself, from floor malting all of its barley to bottling on site. Its whisky is bottled without chill filtration or added colour. From the same stills it makes three styles: Springbank, lightly peated and distilled two and a half times; Longrow, heavily peated and distilled twice; and Hazelburn, unpeated and triple distilled.

The Springbank 10 Year Old is the entry point, with older age statements such as the 21, 25 and 30 Year Old, cask strength and single cask releases, and Local Barley editions made from Scottish barley grown nearby. Longrow and Hazelburn have their own ranges. Old bottlings from the 1960s and 1980s are sought after by collectors.

Official releases are made in limited amounts and are much in demand, so prices can vary widely between shops. Independent bottlings exist, from Douglas Laing, Hunter Laing, Murray McDavid, Duncan Taylor and others, but they are less common than for many distilleries.