Springbank
Whisky Distillery
The Springbank Whisky
Distillery |
Springbank
Distillery Whisky Tours
For information about tours / tastings or to book
a place on a Springbank tour please phone +44 (0) 1586 552085.
Or, send an e-mail to Springbank
Distillery.
Getting There
By car: From Glasgow it is about
3 hours to Campbeltown. The most direct route is on the A82
to Tarbet on Loch Lomond, then the A83 via Inveraray and Lochgilphead.
By bus: From Glasgow there is a regular three times
daily bus service. Travel time is approximately 4 and a 1/2
hours.
By air: From Glasgow airport there are two
flights daily to Macrihanish airport near Campbeltown. For
more information call 0141-889-3181.
Parking
Enter by the sign on the wall and up a narrow lane: park on
the left opposite the distillery gates. Facing you as you
enter the gate is the office in a small cottage. Sit on a
barrel in the sun and await your guide.
Production at the Springbank Distillery
Malting There are two traditional malting
floors at Springbank, each holding between 10 and 12 tonnes.
The first part of the production process involves soaking,
or "steeping" the barley in water for 35 hours to
increase the moisture content to around 47%, and to trigger
germination.
This causes the production of enzymes in the grain that will
convert starch into sugars during the later mashing process.
The sprouting barley is spread on the floors and left for
5 -7 days, during which time it is turned manually every four
hours to prevent matting of the roots, to regulate temperature
and facilitate oxygen flow.
Kilning It is necessary to stop germination
before the new shoot begins to appear so that starch is not
consumed in the interests of the new plant. This is done by
drying the "green malt" over a peat fired kiln.
As a lightly peated whisky, Springbank malt is dried for six
hours with peat, then a further 24 hours with hot air.
Longrow on the other hand is dried entirely over a peat fire
for 48 hours resulting in a much more heavily peated malt.
A third malt whisky, Hazelburn, is also produced at the distillery
and for this no peat is used in the "kilning".
Milling The malted barley is stored for around
three weeks before being processed in batches called "mashes".
These are passed through a dresser which removes dust and
dirt, then through a traditional Porteous mill to be ground
down to "grist".
Mashing Hot water is then added to the grist
and the mixture filled into the mash tun for conversion of
starch into sugars. The sweet liquid that drains through the
grist, "wort", is subsequently cooled and transferred
to washbacks to be fermented.
A
total of four waters are added to the grist, each time at
a higher temperature to ensure all the sugar is extracted.
The last two waters have a much lower sugar content and they
are used as the first two waters for the next mash. The remaining
grist, now known as "draff", is sold to local farmers
for animal feed.
Fermentation There are six wooden washbacks
at Springbank made of boat-skin larch, each with a capacity
of 21,000 litres. It is here that yeast is added to the wort,
which eventually ferments the sugars into alcohol.
The process takes at least two days, at the end of
which time there is a beer-like liquid, known as "wash",
with a strength between 4% and 5% ABV. This is now ready to
be distilled.
Distillation At Springbank there are three
copper pot-stills - one wash still and two spirit stills.
The wash still is the only one in Scotland to be heated using
both internal steam coils and a direct burner to the base
of the still.
To prevent any solids sticking
to the still bottom, the wash still is fitted with a rummager,
a revolving arm which drags copper chains around the bottom
of the still, dislodging any solids contained in the wash
which are likely to stick. In the process it is constantly
exposing new copper which, it is thought, may contribute to
the final flavour of the whisky.
Springbank,
it is said, is distilled two and a half times whereas Longrow
is double and Hazelburn triple distilled.
Maturation Before being filled into casks,
the spirit is reduced in strength to 63% ABV, using water
from Crosshill Loch, which is the source of water for the
entire production process. A variety of oak casks are used
to mature Springbank, including those that previously contained
bourbon or sherry.
The maturation
process is vital in determining the final character of the
whisky, and has a major influence on its flavour. The spirit
must be matured for three years before it can be called Scotch
whisky - Springbank is matured for at least ten years.
Bottling As a comparatively small distillery
with a limited production, Springbank carries out all its
bottling on site in an old converted warehouse. The bottling
process is not highly automated - instead the dozen or so
workers take a very active role and their presence is vital
at every stage.
Each bottle is inspected by hand allowing total quality control
from start to finish. Unlike many other malts, Springbank
is neither coloured nor chill filtered.
Contact Us
Springbank Distillers Ltd
85 Longrow, Campbeltown, Argyll, PA28 6EX Scotland
Tel:
+44 (0) 1586 552009
Fax: +44 (0) 1586 553232
More Springbank
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