Whispering Waters Black Label – Springbank 1996 – Madeira, Oloroso & Bourbon, Triple Matured

Whispering Waters · Black Label · Pre-Order Springbank 1996 Distilled November 22, 1996. Bottling November 22, 2026, thirty years to the day. Eight years in 1st Fill Madeira, twenty-one in refill Oloroso, and a final rest in refill bourbon. Three casks, one spirit, and the most unusual Springbank we have ever seen. 30 Years to the Day 1996 Vintage 3 Casks Nov 22 Bottling Day 01The Cask Our first Black Label Springbank was a cask that was left alone for thirty years. This one is the opposite: a cask that was managed, moved three times on purpose, by someone who knew exactly what each piece of wood would do to the spirit. Chapter I, 1996 to 2004: 1st Fill Madeira. Madeira is a fortified wine that is deliberately heated and oxidised as it ages, so a 1st Fill Madeira cask is intense, saturated wood. Eight years of it on young Springbank stamped the spirit with marmalade, dried apricot, and a dessert-wine richness that is still the loudest thing in the glass today. Chapter II, 2004 to 2025: Refill Oloroso Sherry. Twenty-one years in a cask that had already given up most of its sherry. That is the key decision. A first fill sherry cask on top of 1st Fill Madeira would have buried the distillery. Refill Oloroso instead acted as seasoning, letting the Madeira and Springbank's oily, coastal, faintly smoky character stay in front while the oak kept working. Chapter III, 2025 until bottling: Refill Bourbon. A short, gentle final rest that lets everything settle without adding more. The cask is bottled on November 22, 2026, the 30th anniversary of the day it was filled. Cask strength and outturn are confirmed the day it is emptied. I said yes to this cask before my own sample arrived. Jack's notes were enough. Jay Roberts, Founder · The Whiskey Lab 02Why Springbank Matters Springbank is the most sought-after distillery in Scotland. Family-owned since 1828, it malts its own barley on its own floors, runs a tiny output, and sells every bottle it makes many times over. Allocation lines form for its standard releases. Independent single casks at 30 years essentially do not leave the gates, and a thirty year Springbank with a Madeira chapter in its history is something we have never seen offered anywhere. The distillery Founded: 1828, Campbeltown Owner: J & A Mitchell, the same family for nearly two centuries Style: Oily, coastal, lightly smoky single malt, floor-malted on site, distilled two and a half times. The most traditional production process in Scotland, unchanged for generations. Why this is rare Campbeltown was once the whisky capital of the world. Three distilleries survive, and Springbank is its crown. Aged Springbank is among the scarcest whisky on earth. Add a three-cask journey that starts in 1st Fill Madeira, and there is nothing on the market to compare it to. The 1995 was the finest cask we had offered. This is the strangest, and we mean that as the highest compliment. 03The Cask's Journey Nov 22, 1996 Distilled at Springbank and filled into a first fill Madeira cask. 2004 After eight years, re-racked into a refill Oloroso sherry cask. It stays there for 21 years. 2025 Moved into refill bourbon for its final rest. Sampled, and bought by The Whiskey Lab. Nov 22, 2026 Bottled on its thirtieth birthday. Hand numbered, sealed in black wax, shipped to the US. 04Two Tastings, Unedited Two people tasted this cask independently, months apart, on two continents. Jack tasted the sample in Scotland, and his notes are what sold us the cask. Jay's own sample reached Virginia later. Both sets are published exactly as they were written. Nothing has been tidied up for marketing, and we have not reconciled one against the other. Tasting notes · Jack Breslin, from the cask sample, Scotland Nose Big Madeira/ sherry notes. No hint of typical PX influence so assuming refill oloroso where the sherry cask was used. Main influence coming from the Madeira. It smells like springbank though. Mature fruity aromas like marmalade, oak is strong but not overpowering or bitterly tannic. A hint of something very sweet in the background- white chocolate maybe? Estery and fruity. Not strong in the peat. No soap No cardboard No acetone No sulphur Butterscotch Something bready and a richness I associate with dessert wine or port Palate It's still got guts. Big flavour. Big spice from the oak- I guess European oak which I think tracks with the timeline. Yes it's Madeira and big wood influence but it's still got the peat. Mellowed by the years but very much still holding its own. Salty and maritime too. It's viscous, generous, and chewy. It's got the funk. Very savoury. Again- no sulphur.First Madeira influence- marmalade, dried apricot. Then the smoke and funk. Coastal and savoury. And then back to fruit with oak spice and then it fades to something I can't put my finger on yet Tasting notes · Jay Roberts, Founder, from his own sample Nose Springbank, unmistakably, but sweeter than you expect. Madeira leads: marmalade, dried apricot, dark chocolate butterscotch, the kind of hard candy you loved as a kid. Something bready and rich underneath, like dessert wine. Oak is present but not tannic. Peat sits low. Palate Massive flavour, intense but not overwhelming. Mature intensity, a seasoned professional rather than adolescent aggression. Sweet up front, toffee and salted caramel dark chocolate with wood smoke drifting through it, then a tingle across the whole tongue as the peat arrives, mellow and coastal rather than medicinal. Marmalade and oak spice follow, then Campbeltown funk, savoury and maritime. It rises after the swallow rather than fading and fills the whole mouth. Viscous, chewy, generous. Finish Salted caramel dark chocolate with a hint of oak smoke. Saline on the breath. Timed at four minutes and still tapering when we stopped counting. Read them in order and you can watch one taster hand the question to the next. Jack's notes stop mid-thought, on a finish that fades into something he could not place. Months later and an ocean away, Jay put a clock on that same finish and gave up counting at four minutes. Final ABV and outturn are confirmed at bottling on November 22, 2026. Black Label · Whispering Waters The Rarest Tier We Bottle Black Label is reserved for casks that redefine what Whispering Waters can be. The Springbank 1995 refill sherry butt earned it. This 1996 earns it for a different reason: not thirty years of stillness, but thirty years of intent. Every bottle wears the Whispering Waters black cap, hand-dipped in black wax over the closure, and is individually hand numbered. The bottle shot follows once the release is confirmed. 05Why $1,750 Straight numbers, because you deserve them before you decide. What the cask cost us This cask cost 30% more to buy than the Springbank 1995 refill sherry butt. Three casks, a Madeira chapter, and a thirtieth-birthday bottling date carry a premium at the warehouse door, and they should. We did not put that 30% into the pre-order price. The 1995 was $1,500. This is $1,750: a 17% step for a cask that cost us nearly twice that step to secure. What the price buys Thirty years of single-cask Springbank, bottled on the anniversary of its distillation. Madeira, Oloroso, and bourbon wood in sequence, each one chosen. Cask strength, not reduced. Hand numbered, black wax. When it lands, the shelf price is $2,500. Pre-order holds it at $1,750. We would rather these bottles be opened by drinkers than sealed in vaults. That is the whole reason the number is what it is. Pre-Order · Black Label $1,750 $2,500 Save $750 against the landed price Bottled November 22, 2026. Pre-orders lock your bottle at $1,750. Once the cask is emptied and the outturn is known, the release moves to its landed price of $2,500 and any remaining allocation goes first come, first served. Arrival timing is confirmed after bottling. Pricing is final: discount codes do not apply to this release. Any order placed using a discount code will be cancelled and refunded. 06Specifications Specification Details Brand Whispering Waters Black Label Whisky style Single malt Scotch whisky Region Campbeltown, Scotland Distillery Springbank Distilled November 22, 1996 Bottled November 22, 2026, thirty years to the day Age 30 years ABV Cask strength. Final figure confirmed at bottling. Volume 700 ml Cask One cask throughout, re-racked twice. See the cask journey above. Cask one 1st Fill Madeira, 8 years (1996 to 2004) Cask two Refill Oloroso sherry, 21 years (2004 to 2025) Cask three Refill bourbon, final rest until bottling Outturn Confirmed at bottling Price $1,750 pre-order · $2,500 landed price Availability Pre-order now, arrival timing confirmed after bottling Discounts Discount codes do not apply to this release Closure Black cap, hand-dipped black wax seal Bottle numbering Individually hand numbered Non-chill filtered Yes Natural colour Yes Pre-order allocation is first come, first served. Discount codes do not apply to this release: any order placed with one will be cancelled and refunded. Bottle images are renderings.