Hazelburn is the third malt produced at Springbank distillery, alongside Springbank itself and the heavily peated Longrow. It is made from completely unpeated barley and triple distilled, taking its name from the lost Campbeltown distillery that closed in 1925. Production began in 1997, and the first commercial Hazelburn bottlings appeared in 2005.
Oloroso sherry cask matured expressions of Hazelburn have been issued periodically as limited releases at different ages. These bottlings sit within Springbank's pattern of small, self contained projects released when stock and the distillery manager deem them ready, rather than to a fixed annual calendar.
Triple distillation produces a lighter, cleaner distillate than Springbank's own two and a half pass method. This leaves more room for cask influence, and Oloroso is among the more assertive of sherry styles, contributing dried fruit, nut and spice. The interaction here is balanced, the spirit allowing the sherry to sing without being swamped by it.
Bottled at 47.1%, unchill filtered and naturally coloured, this expression demonstrates what a Campbeltown distillate can do in heavy European oak when given time. The Mitchell family's commitment to traditional production methods, including floor malting and the refusal to use caramel colouring, gives such releases a purity that dedicated drinkers return to. For those who associate Campbeltown only with peat and brine, Hazelburn offers a quietly insistent alternative.
