Springbank Announce Countdown Collection

Springbank have recently announced the first release from their forthcoming Countdown Collection, a series of whiskies that will be launched in anticipation of the legendary Campbeltown distillery’s 200th anniversary.

The Countdown Collection will consist of five whiskies released annually between now and the anniversary year of 2028 and is part of a wider range of celebrations, with more special events and experiences to be announced.

The first whisky in the collection will be a 27 Year Old expression bottled at a natural cask strength of 47.1% ABV. Only 500 bottles will be released and will be available exclusively through a ballot. Each bottle will also come with a personalised certificate of authentication. All five releases will be equally limited, but no information has yet been released regarding the whisky of the other four releases.

This inaugural release will be available for £2,500, which might not seem too outrageous for a limited edition 27 year old whisky from such a famed distillery. However, it could be argued that it’s slightly at odds with Springbank’s reputation for releasing highly regarded yet reasonably priced single malts.

For example, the initial retail price of their 2023 edition 25 Year Old was £520, while the 2022 edition of the 30 Year Old was around £850. Compare that to something like Macallan, whose 2022 25 Year Old retailed for over £2,000.

On the other hand, one look at auction sites will tell you that there are plenty of people who are willing to pay substantially more than the retail price to get their hands on well aged Springbank. The distillery has a large, fervent fanbase who will doubtlessly be willing to part with the cash to own such a unique whisky. Each whisky will be a one-off, a special piece of the distillery’s fabled history, and to some that will be priceless.

Those hoping to get their hands on a bottle of the inaugural Countdown Collection release can head to Springbank’s website to enter the ballot. The ballot will be live from Monday 20th March until Sunday 26th March 2023.