Dark and slightly mysterious, our 18-year-old Longrow has a complex nose that unearths a peaty aroma reminiscent of dunnage warehouses.
Springbank distillers
Appearance
Deep dark gold in colour, with a slight orange hue. It has a lovely thick swirl line and syrupy thick slow legs.
Nose
Straight away the peat is here, yes the barbecue bonfire many of us get, with barbecued meats, followed by a medley of fruits. Tropical and stoned fruits, dried apricot slices, guava, some peach/nectarines, a faint medicinal feel, and salinity, dry leaves, and a little botanical note too.
Palate
First off it has a good mouthfeel, and the salinity is up front, sweet fruits from the nose mix with star anise, black pepper, black liquorice, mocha, and with milk chocolate coated raisins. Smoke seems to swirl around here and envelope everything else it offers.
With time the salinity becomes even stronger, the fruits develop into more red berries, syrup from a can of strawberries, raspberries, cherries, then gooseberries, green grapes, liquorice torpedo kids sweets, the palate is very deep and very well married.
Finish
The finish is nice and long, and super chest warming. The spices really do linger, and the fruits continue to mix with them, and I’m getting a little drying, nothing too strong. It does delve into espresso and grapefruit/pomello and what I think blood orange marmalade would taste like.
My thoughts
I have to say iv’e grown like many others, to thoroughly enjoy the whiskies crafted by the Springbank distillers. Whenever in try something new from them i have my fingers crossed, hoping that the bottling i’m about to try is as good or better than last one i had the pleasure to sip.
From pouring the sample very kindly sent to me by my whisky friend Sean -@RockNRolla60 on twitter, i knew i was going to enjoy it. Coming in at 46% ABV it is a step up in ABV, and it shows. Firstly from nosing this dram there is much complexity, and a myriad of aromas to find and enjoy. The palate is deep and very nicely married, so much so it takes time to identify the flavours within. I must say i thoroughly enjoyed tasting a reviewing this whisky, it’s a wonderful dram for a whisky friend to send, and if i could afford a bottle i would without a doubt purchase one.
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Photo Credit: The Whisky World
