Springbank 21 yo 1993 / 2015 Lockett Brothers #470 49.4% vs Cooley 22 yo 1991 / 2014 SMWS 117.5 55.5%
Springbank 21 yo 1993 / 2015 Lockett Brothers #470 49.4%
Oh a sharp-edged, muscular Springbank. Grass juice, lemon rind, all ascetic and raw. Lots of hot engine oil and puffing white smoke. Salt soaked wool sweaters. Bay leaf and pine needles. White gravel thrown into open fires. Molten plastic and diesel. I can see why this might be too much, but some do find this unapologetic visceral quality charming, the same folks also love angry bulls. 89 pts
Cooley 22 yo 1991 / 2014 SMWS 117.5 55.5%
It’s a profile you recognize in these excellent Irish Malts from this period. A matching of opulent sherry with gloriously fruity spirit. The result is glorious, res ipsa loquitur. Richly arrayed and jostling about are a crush of purple-black hues including dark fruit, cocoa, unlit tobacco, leather settees, drops of dark resin, black pepper and a whole jar of desert spices, cold soot stains, shoe polish. The tannic gleam of aromatic dark woods like african blackwood underscore the richness, and everywhere clean coppery glints, sharp berries, passionfruit and mango swirl about. Very much my cup of tea, though the tannicity is almost overbearing. 91 pts
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