I really like the Springbank Local Barley series. So far four different expressions were released, each using different barley strains, different ages and different casks combination.
The latest one is the 9 Year Old which was released late 2018. It’s distilled from Optic barley strain (grown locally of course), and was aged for just 9 years (after having 16, 11 and 10 year old). The casks mix is 80% Bourbon & 20% Sherry casks (For your reference, the 10 year old had a casks mix of 70% Bourbon and 30% Sherry).
Shall we see how does it fare in comparison?
Springbank Local Barley 9 Year Old (57.7%, 9700 bottles)
Photo credit: whiskybase.com
Nose: Intense and rich, Lots of caramel and greenery notes, honey, green sweet peat, motor oil, grease. After a few minutes it becomes more ‘green’ and honeyed and there are pears, peaches and caramel toffee and perfume-y edge. Continue reading
Nose: Soft and rich, winey with tannins, raisins and figs, dried red fruit with lots of blackberries, almonds and hazelnuts chocolate, honey and nutmeg, very velvety. 
Nose: lively and kicking but also very fresh. There can be no doubt this is a Caol Ila with all those classic Caol Ila notes: lemon, honey, seafood and seaweed, sweet peat but there’s also saltiness and bitter almonds to balance the sweetness.
Nose: You feel the Mortlachness here with dense and heavy nose, hazelnuts, fresh grapefruit peels and juice, bread-y, dough, fresh Granny Smith apples, vanilla and a big dash of honey. 
Nose: Bubblegum, very wild and not very Glenmorangie like, malt, I would swear it’s a distilled beer, orange, nuts in the background and a bit of freshness. After a few minutes more nuts and menthol, pears, pine forest, very beer-y. With a few drops of water it’s fruitier and there’s fresh beer froth. A unique nose (especially for Glenmorangie). 
Nose: Honey and wax, yellow plums and pears, very fruity with rich fruit juice. dusty (or perhaps powdery), very dense and intense for 46% whisky. After a short while even some tropical fruits, nutmeg, becoming orchard with added floral side to the fruitiness. 
Nose: Sweet honey, wax and vanilla, feels quite spirity – a bit surprising considering the malts age and composite but we should remember that age isn’t everything in whisky. Green peaches and pears, brioche with canned fruit. After a few minutes it gets dryer with oak spice but also getting notes of grass and meadow. 
Nose: Very smoky, blobs of vanilla and honey, then comes the BBQ meat with dripping sauce and coal smoke. The nose is quite sweet with sweet earthy peat and some sweetened bread. Greenery and fruitiness blossoms after a short while and smoke becomes drier. 
Whisky Gospel 