"There she blows!--there she blows! A hump like a snow-hill! It is Moby Dick!"
Moby-Dick [aka The Whale] by Herman Melville (1851).
Finally, I found one! A Campbeltown single malt scotch whisky, my 'white whale'.
I suppose I am the Capt. Ahab figure in this literary allusion. The bartender can be Ishmael as he bore witness to my geeking out about stumbling upon such a rare malt in little ol' Richmond, VA. And just to beat my metaphor into the ground, the Pequod, of course, would be McCormack's Whisky Grill.
I had just been to a function at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and knew the legendary Robinson Street watering hole was only a couple blocks walk away. Of course, a much larger version, McCormack's Big Whisky Grill, owned in part by some of the members of Richmond's preeminent metal band, Lamb of God (although a solid argument could be also made for GWAR), is now open in the West End, but I wanted to check out the original first.
I venture to guess this establishment has more whisky bottles than square feet. Absolutely minuscule. Typical layout for a restaurant in the Fan District, long and skinny layout with booths on one wall, enormous well-varnished bar on the other, comically high ceiling and minimal intrusion of daylight. It wouldn't take more than 20 patrons to make this place cozy and loud, but it was virtually empty this particular early evening.
The bar is stacked four or five levels high in whisk(e)y bottles to the point where they have to use a ladder to get to the upper shelves like the Clue mansion library. I sat there agape reading the labels on display: Octomore (at 167 ppm phenol, the smokiest scotch ever produced, and it has a waiting list to purchase), Pappy Van Winkle 23 (one of only 2 bottles in RVA, $120 a dram), Old Pulteney 21 (2012's 'Whisky of the Year' in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible), etc. ...And then there it was - Springbank 10.
Having zero frame of reference for what to expect from a Campbeltown malt, I spent more time than usual savoring its aromas before diving in, and was not disappointed. Initially, there was a pronounced sweetness on the nose: full-bodied malt, creamy vanilla, soft ripened pear. My first impression was along the lines of a Highland malt. It dawned on me that a lot of the kitchen smells wafting my way in this tiny establishment, although delicious in their own right, were potentially playing tricks on me. I cupped the glass and tried again, this time registering sea brine and mild peat smoke like a tamer Islay malt. A crisp oak aroma lingered long after I put the glass back down. Nice complexity from just a 10 year old malt.
As delightful as I found the olfactory character, I was a tad disappointed that there wasn't really anything new about it. A decent blend could marry the highlights of a Highland and an Islay malt, I wanted to experience something unique from my first Campbeltown malt.
My first sip came close to accomplishing that. I took in a small nip and let it sit on the tip of my tongue, and was instantly reminded of the first sip of a caramel macchiato; a warming, dense sweetness with a creamy hint of mocha. Maybe some roasted barley lending that coffee note like a freshly poured Guinness. I barely noticed the 46% ABV. Spice plays a role as well, nicely balanced. Oakiness and vanilla notes also contributing here.
Taking in a marginally larger taste and swirling it around a bit, the smokiness really shined though. Definitely not Islay-levels of peat, more hardwood smoke if anything, and somehow distinctly earthy. With the ever-emerging maritime salinity that seems to build with every sip, I start eyeing the oyster and spinach appetizer on the menu as an ideal pairing for this malt. Not today, I'm afraid. Just here for a drink, but damn would that hit the spot. Probably should have.
The finish again had an initial burst of sweet, followed by a strong salty note that trails off to a drying coat of oak flavor. Start to finish, a delightful whisky. And they do it right: no chill filtering, no caramel coloring, practically cask strength ABV, respectable complexity, and a balance of characteristics that straddle the dichotomy of two major camps of scotch whisky enthusiasm. What's not to like?
The closer thing to a downer I took away from this experience was that my Springbank 10 never did bring anything particularly new to the table. Is it a pan-Scottish fusion of whisky styles, or is it the common ancestor from which the others evolved? I honestly cannot decide. Admittedly, it is unfair to judge an entire region by a single dram of one of its entry-level malts, but apart from its historical significance, what exactly sets Campbeltown malts apart enough to merit its legally protected status as one of the five official scotch whisky regions? Even the Lowland malts have their distinctive grassy flavor. Having long considered Campbeltown malts as mysterious ultra-rare treasures, maybe it's just that the thrill of the hunt is now over. I can stand up from my desk at work and have one in hand within 15 minutes. Well, that's not exactly true, McCormack's doesn't open until 4:00.
Overall Grade: 91, A-
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