May 1

May 1 Notes on The Casual Dram:22

**Springbank 12-year-old Cask Strength 55.9% - 2025 release**

60% Bourbon, 35% Sherry, 5% Rum
Springbank really is the poster boy for floor malting as it’s the only distillery to 100% floor malt all of its barley on site on traditional concrete floors.
Floor malting results in a greater variability in moisture and heat through the barley bed as it germinates, and a richer microbiota (the conditions are less sterile than a pneumatic drum malter, for example).
As a result, we see a richer phenolic profile when peating is involved before kilning, and a funkier brew when long ferments are conducted. The funk is also enhanced at Springbank due to the use of open-top washbacks constructed from Scandinavian boat-skin larch (which also offer a less sterile environment in which to ferment).
Floor malting also creates more precursors to waxiness, in the form of aldehydes and acids, which can convert into esters. In long frements and extended ageing, these can then form long-chain fatty acid esters, which appear as waxy on the palate.

**Benriach 22 Year Old 1993-2016 Claret Hogshead #7937 54.3% (unpeated)**

Benriach Distillery operated traditional floor maltings until 1999, producing both peated and unpeated malt in-house. It ceased due to rising costs, labour intensity, and the efficiency of commercial maltsters. Today, Benriach occasionally revives floor malting for its limited release Malting Season expression.

**Bruichladdich Micro Provenance 2011 NZ Exclusive 61.9% -** ex-Bourbon Barrel

This 10-Year-Old whisky has been made using a single barley variety called 'Apaloosa' harvested in 2011, distilled in 2012 and matured exclusively in a single ex-Bourbon Barrel.
Bruichladdich Distillery sources 100% of its barley from Scotland, focusing on local Islay and organic varieties, and relies mainly on Bairds Maltings in Inverness for industrial malting. While some specialty batches have used local on-island malting, most of the barley is sent to mainland industrial maltings.
This whisky is made from Bere barley, a heritage six-row landrace grain, grown for over 1,000 years in Scotland, which imparts an intensely earthy, unctuous, and nutty flavor profile to whisky, setting it apart from modern high-yield barley varieties.

Examples of barley varieties…

Commercial (modern, high-yield, widely used):
Concerto, Laureate, Odyssey, Oxbridge, Planet, Laureate, Propino, Optic

Heritage (older, flavour-focused, lower yield):
Bere, Maris Otter, Golden Promise, Plumage Archer, Chevallier

Experimental / niche (trialled for flavour or agronomy):
Apaloosa, Diablo, Laureate derivatives, KWS Irina, Explorer, Electrum

Heritage barley strains, such as Bere and Maris Otter, are older varieties prized for flavour over yield. In whisky, they often produce richer, more characterful spirits with nutty, biscuity depth, oily texture, and enhanced mouthfeel. Fermentation can yield complex esters—dried fruit, spice, and subtle floral notes—giving greater distillate individuality. However, these strains are less efficient in the brewhouse, with lower extract and more variable performance. As a result, they are typically used in limited or experimental releases, where distillers prioritise flavour complexity and terroir expression over consistency and high alcohol yield.