https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/bottle-polishing-all-sorts/
This was Frank McHardy’s final project before retiring as Springbank production director. This blend consists of 75% malt whiskies [from five distilleries covering the five whisky regions], and 25% grain whisky. It would be reasonable to assume there’s a proportion of Springbank in here, but that is only an assumption.
N: Fusty, dusty/sooty/ashy, nutty, gritty, grassy=cereal-y lemony soft with stringy candy, light caramel, baking fruits, a little papaya, medjool dates, faded [brown] leather [tOMoH], banana shake, rose herbal soap, vanilla cream,… Cracking and congenial nose.
T: Not a whiff of grain early on. With a strong, direct & bitter arrival, this is barley malt forward - rich, soft floury malt countered by an firm, acute citrus character towards bitter lemon & grapefruit. Later it creams up as those casks of 30 years take hold of the reigns.
F: Lots of moving parts to the finish. Soft & integrated woody and gravel-y sour vanilla cream joins the bitter~sour citrus, a sweetish<savoury Euthymol candy fruitiness and mineral barley notes with sooty=smokey hints throughout. However it’s the mineral-y=pebble-y citrus that remains stalwart.
C: The bottle didn’t last too long, a testament to its tastiness. I recommend only a little water.Scores a B[+}