Sherried Longrow 19 years for Bottling Hall Dinner
The Bottling Hall Dinner at Springbank is legendary for the fact that it produces a special single cask for attendees. Well, the name Bottling Hall was special this year, previous iterations came from the Malt Barn dinners. We tasted a tremendous one last year, which was a Springbank single cask. In 2026 during the Malt Festival the participants found a Longrow! Without further ado, we get to tasting!
Longrow 19 years old, Old Bottling Hall Dinner, bottled at 57,7 % abv
First things first: Cask 597 was a Fresh Sherry Oloroso Hogshead from the 2006 vintage and was bottled on 20 May 2026. I love the moody dark label for this bottling!
Upon Sipping: Swirling this Longrow round in the glass, the legs do not seem that thick, which might indicate the spirit still has a story to tell, in unison with the sherry cask. The nose seems to be excellently balanced between still quite pungent smoke and the robust sherry elements of cigar leaves and furniture polish. We will play with water later, but there already seems to be an element of red fruit in play too. First a sip! What an impressive balance, reminding me of a pitch black Cage Bottle I once acquired. I am willing to bet this is a sister cask, as the vintage is the same. At 15 years old, that was a meaty, peaty beast, and this 19 years old is exactly the same. The difference is made at the palate, where this Longrow is definitely more bitter with wood and pure chocolate, but the charm is no less potent. With water, not much change on the nose, but the palate improves towards darker fruits, blackcurrant most prominently. The peat smoke is delicately present, but is confident in playing second fiddle. It creates a more sherry forward expression, but very much with the Longrow DNA present. These are unique bottlings, as long aged Longrow is not often seen anymore.
Word to the Wise: A wonderfully sherried Longrow where the peat smoke is in service to the cask, without ever losing the Longrow DNA out of sight.
Score: 90 points.