Springbank Distillers has collaborated with Scottish band Travis for a single-cask bottling of Springbank 26 Years Old. Just 234 bottles of the limited edition whisky have been released.
The 26-year-old special release reflects the Travis’ journey: distilled in the same year as the band’s album The Man Who, which featured top-10 song ‘Why Does It Always Rain on Me’, the whisky has been launched to coincide with the release of Travis’ 10th album LA Times. The bottle’s label depicts the album artwork and new track ‘Raze the Bar’.
The story of the special bottling began with Springbank’s sister company and fellow Campbeltown distillery, Kilkerran. The brands’ owner, J&A Mitchell & Co, was making plans for the 20th anniversary celebrations for Kilkerran, which included hopes for Travis to headline a celebratory concert in Campbeltown’s Victoria Hall.
J&A Mitchell & Co partnered with Caskade Drinks, which is known for its collaborations with artists (including a bottling in honour of Status Quo in 2023). In the negotiations between the companies and the band, a resolution was reached: Travis would headline the celebration in exchange for a single cask collaboration with Springbank.
The cask selected by Springbank and Travis is a single malt matured for 26 years in a refill bourbon cask. Tasting notes shared by the distillery include soft peat smoke, honeycomb, fruit syrup, tinned peaches, and woodspice, with a note in the finish “reminiscent of campfire embers”.
The Travis & Springbank 26 Years Old is bottled at 53.5% ABV and went on sale via springbank.scot on 14 August 2024 at RRP £1,250.
