A few Longmorn, vertically


April 18, 2024

A few Longmorn, vertically

Let's say four of them, does that suit you? It's a top-notch distillate, everyone knows that…

Longmorn's awesome old steam engine (Chris Allen, Geograph)

Longmorn 2005/2022 (62.3%, Or Sileis Taiwan, 1st fill sherry butt, cask #18072, 619 bottles)

You can't miss it, there's a rather spectacular dragon on the label. Colour: mahogany/coffee. Nose: deeply chocolatey, with prunes and armagnac, and a hint of gunpowder, but let's not jump to hasty conclusions. With water: a profusion of toffee, grilled steak, barbecue sauce, hoisin too, mole sauce (chocolate), a drop of Worcestershire sauce, another of aged balsamic... It really recalls the old, very sherried Longmorn from G&M's. Mouth (neat): it's richly textured, but a tiny tad overpowering. Imagine hoisin sauce mixed with chestnut honey and very moist pipe tobacco. With water: more on tangerine, orange marmalade, peppermint, rancio, aged Pedro Ximénez... It's very traditional. Finish: long, chocolatey, quite 'brandy-ish'. Toffee and marmalade linger in the aftertaste, with a touch of tar and liquorice. Comments: very, very traditional. Pleased to see the continuation of crafting true sherry monsters.
SGP:652 - 88 points.

Longmorn 25 yo 1998/2023 (53.7%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, Kirsch exclusive, Germany, 1st fill sherry hogshead, cask #20600101)

Our German friends love their sherried malts and their malts sherried, that a fact. Colour: full amber. Nose: it's heavily on tangerine, cinchona, fir honey, ferns and mushrooms, but also boot polish and asparagus cream. Odd combination, I know. It then veers increasingly towards beef broth, gravy, barbecue sauce… With water: it shifts to basalt, slag, spent matches, black truffle… Mouth (neat): it's gentler at first, but balsamico and crushed pepper quickly take over. Like Jägermeister, yet without a gram of sugar. With water: the return of oranges, pepper, cinchona, bell pepper… Finish: long, sharper, a bit vinegary. And this notion of sugarless Jäger… And myrtle. Comments: truly an adventurer, not easy to track. Beware, it will capture your full attention, even if you're in front of a 36-episode North Korean series on Netflix.
SGP:472 - 85 points.

Longmorn 16 yo 1997/2013 (48.5%, Sansibar, sherry cask, 143 bottles)

It was probably time we tasted this baby. Colour: straw. Nose: it's from a sherry cask but bears no resemblance to the two behemoths we've just sampled. It's much more reminiscent of Clynelish, with wax, ripe apples, melon, roasted chestnuts, jujubes, bamboo shoots, a hint of turmeric... Mouth: very good, very fruity, with melon and lemon, a bit of wild mint, verbena, grapefruit... The sherry is not at all evident. There's even a slight medicinal and peaty aspect, as if it came from an old Laphroaig barrel, which I strongly doubt. Finish: medium in length, but waxy and quite mineral. Candied citrus notes appear right at the end. Comments: in summary, a Longmorn that's not very Longmorn. But very good...
SGP:562 - 86 points.

Longmorn 30 yo 1993/2024 'Lost in Time' (54.4%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, 2nd fill hogshead, cask #56087, 180 bottles)

I really believe that this new 'rather all about the distillate' series is very smart (if a tiny-wee tad pricey, but not even sure about that and who's counting anyway?) We're a bit tired of first fill stuff and new woods, aren't we? Isn't it time to put, well, time back onto the pedestal? So isn't this rather counter-culture malt whisky by today's standards? Hippy drops? Rather Janis and Jimi? Colour: light gold. Nose: I'm reminded of their new Braevals. This is some statement. Apples and plums, ales and gueuzes, peaches and apricots, then brioches and macaroons, yellow melons, some very mild vanilla, rather barley syrup… With water: just perfect pure apple juice with drops of barley syrup. Mouth (neat): exceptionally fruity, neat, ultra-clean, just on barley syrup, apples, plums and oranges. Truly a statement, as this could have been a (brilliant) twelve-years-old just as well, IMHO. Forgot to mention white clover flowers – that says a lot, you won't find them in a 12. With water: total, simple, barley-y fruity purity. Finish: rather long, with many more small fruits, including white berries, small plums, and just a dollop of prairie honey. Comments: almost a seasoned hard-rock band finally playing unplugged – and amazing the world. A statement indeed.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Glenlossie we've tasted so far

		But why specify the colour of a whisky?
		I'm often told it makes no sense to note down the colour of a spirit in our records, since caramel is often added before bottling, rendering terms like 'deep gold' or 'mahogany' meaningless. I get that, but I generally respond that while the fact that a Toyota is painted turquoise doesn't change its roadworthiness, it's still "a turquoise Toyota". In essence, the colour is simply a descriptive feature, characteristic of all spirits, but it doesn't necessarily define their quality or, in some cases, their style or age. However, this very old Speyside, rich in paxarette, is indeed 'mahogany' in colour, whereas this very young Highlander, bolstered with red wine, is definitely 'rosé gold'. See what I mean?