One of the great joys of collecting whisky is obtaining a limited release bottle that is no longer in production. That is the case with today’s whisky, The Longmorn 15 year old single malt Scotch whisky. John Duff, Charles Shirres and George Thomson founded the Longmorn Distillery Company in 1893.
He also founded the Glenlossie distillery two decades earlier. After some time at Glenlossie, Duff moved to South Africa to start a distillery in Transvaal. Duff invested large sums of money there, but the South African president Paul Kruger wasn’t supportive of his plans.
At some point, he decided the circumstances in South Africa were not suitable. He left for the USA to open a distillery there. Soon Duff found that he was not entirely welcome either, and he failed again. He returned to Scotland, and the Longmorn distillery started production in December 1894.
A short while later, Duff built the Benriach Distillery next to Longmorn, but the Pattison Crisis affected both. Longmorn changed hands various times, and it is currently part of the Chivas Brothers empire now owned by Pernod Ricard.
Following the acquisition, Longmorn got a facelift. In 2007 Longmorn revamped the range, and the 15 year old release was replaced by a 16 year old whisky. Today Longmorn distillery no longer offer the 15 year old whisky.
The Longmorn 15 year old single malt whisky had been very highly rated, with the Whisky Bible awarding it a 93. It was thus with great anticipation that I opened the bottle.
Related Article: Glenfarclas 17 yo whisky
Longmorn 15 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Highland
ABV: 45%
COLOUR: A polished copper colour with hints of orange.
NOSE: Brings malty sherry sweetness, but there is a surprising amount of alcohol bite to the nose. The alcohol vapour is overwhelming some of the Longmorn nosing notes.
After standing for a while, some of the vanilla and florals come through, but the nose is very subtle and individual notes are hard to pick up. There are some hints of apricot in the background.
PALATE: Without any water, the palate has loads of malt, spice and wood. There is a bit of Demerara sugar in the background, but it is not as sweet as we expected. After adding some water to the Longmorn, the spice is still overwhelming.
There are notes of black pepper and ginger mixed with a citrus bitterness. It is quite an oily whisky with a medium mouthfeel. Unfortunately, the whole mouth experience is very spicy.
FINISH: Surprisingly short and end in notes of spice and bitter orange peel.
RATING: GOOD
After reading all the reviews, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting a bold, flavourful dram. Based on some internet feedback, this 15 year old Longmorn whisky is better than the new 16 yo release.
It is safe to say that I would not be rushing out to add the Longmorn 16 year old to my collection in a hurry. With all the spiciness, it might be a good whisky to pair with cheese. Any thoughts on this older Longmorn release?
Also Read: Glen Scotia 15 yo whisky
Josh Feldman
Perhaps it will improve in coming weeks with additional air and time.
John Wentzel
We will give it a try again in a few weeks time and see what happens. 🙂