Longmorn consistency through the decades
Longmorn, as the next door neighbour of Benriach Distillery, is gently puffing away, producing gallons and gallons of malt whisky for blends like Chivas and Ballentine’s. As a single malt, official releases have been very sparse over the last few decades. A trustworthy go-to expression was the old 15 years old in a brown dumpy bottle, that lured many curious drinkers in to full blown whisky passion. We have that one on the table today! For me, having tasted many late 1960s and early 1970s releases, it was growing up with Longmorn as an absolute unicorn of the independent bottlers. You can find some extremely high scoring samples here and here. For today’s entry in the Tasting Ledger, we also found an officially bottled recent Longmorn at a very decent age and abv. Marketed as a Secret of Speyside, I can only hope one day Longmorn gets more of a presence in the current day whisky landscape.
Longmorn 15 years old, bottled at 45 % abv
First things first: Produced around the year 2000, this was a 1 litre bottle of the beloved Longmorn 15 years old. In those days, more or less considered a benchmark malt for decent stuff. Yet, this whisky was coloured “mit Farbstoff” and just “matured in oak casks”. Simpler days, eh?
Upon Sipping: Well, there is nothing too simple about this Longmorn 15, because it opens on traditional whisky smells like vanilla and wood, but with an infusion of … pickle water! Might be the effect of bottle ageing/mellowing, but a weird addition to a whisky. When you swirl it around, more grassy notes arise, with some farmy notes for good measure. The slightest hint of copper, or your fingers after touching the zipper on your old high school bag. Alright, interesting ride so far! The arrival on the palate is a bit light, and offers pumpernickel and bitter marmalades. The exit is quite bitter on the wood, but has a nice kick, and is also totally in sync with the sample we taste after this one. Through the ages, we can see consistency within the Longmorn stable. Impressive.
Word to the Wise: It is nice to revisit old heroes from back in the day. This Longmorn might have suffered a little, and one has to start wondering what the adding of colour does to whisky that is then kept in glass for a few decades. You can see, feel and taste the whisky, but there is an artificial whiff there that does not belong.
Score: 83 points.
Longmorn 18 years old, bottled at 48 % abv
First things first: Double cask matured in American oak barrels and hogsheads. Maybe not so much a double cask maturation but matured in casks from different sizes. What was in these casks before Longmorn was put in, is not mentioned. Bottled in the Secret Speyside Collection.
Upon Sipping: Let’s unravel that secret! The aroma coming from the glass is strong and confident. Some citrus notes that lean heavily towards a more orange-red profile, but in a fermenting state. Like fallen plums and peaches lying in the grass of an orchard. Red apples, green pears, all very, very ripe. When diving a little deeper, there is a strong malt base underneath it all. Very complex and layered and allowed to shine through an excellently chosen alcohol strength. Very much an example all Speyside malt whisky should strive to.
Taking a sip, we hope to receive a fruity sensation, but I have to say I am rather disappointed. The taste leans very much on wooded notes, dark chocolate and burnt caramel. Hints of mocha. An unusual contrast when you are just done sniffing from the glass. The wood had too much of an impact on the taste experience. I have added some water and the nose keeps on developing, really the most complete and utterly splendid nose you can wish for on a Speyside whisky. The taste does seem to relax a little with the adding of water, turning more to a malty, breaded experience. On the finish I pick up some nice woodsmoke.
Word to the Wise: A very decent offering by Longmorn, but the discrepancy between nosing and tasting is really off-putting. The expectation of the one contrasts too much with the delivery of the other. Not that the taste is not good, especially if you like bitter notes in your whisky. With more fruitiness on the palate, this could easily reach the high 80s in score.
Score: 85 points.