Scotland, Campbeltown. Distillery operational. Owner: J&A Mitchell & Co Ltd

It is no coincidence that four of the fifteen most prized distilleries in Scotland are family-owned or independent. Throughout the 20th century, this status led them to seize on any commercial opportunity open to them and to develop the marketing ingenuity key to the development and sustainability of their businesses. The Springbank distillery is one of the finest examples of the villainy of the Scotch whisky industry in the 20th century.This is seen in two exceptional bottlings, one distributed in the early 70s, a 50 year old distilled on 29 December 1919 (stated on its certificate), and the other released in the early 90s, a re-bottling from the distiller, limited to 24 editions worldwide, also displaying the vintage 1919. It is also seen in a move made at the very start of the 2000s, when, under pressure from a stock hit hard by years of production crisis (1980s), the Mitchell family decided to drastically change the profile of their single malt, taking the opportunity to change the bottle at the same time.

A Campbeltown single malt distilled at the Springbank distillery in April 2000 and matured for 12 years, the first 6 in ex-bourbon casks, followed by 6 more years in first-fill Calvados barrels. Bottled from a small batch in October 2012 in a limited edition of 9,420 bottles worldwide for the Wood Expressions range. Bottle equipped with a cork stopper and stamped black foil seal.

The Wood Expressions range was launched in 2002. It features original maturation styles, such as rum casks (2002 and 2007), port casks (2003), bourbon casks (2004), Marsala casks (2006), Madeira casks (2009), Claret casks (2010), Calvados casks (2012) and Gaja Barolo casks (2013). Bottlings are always from small batches with high ABVs.