Longmorn 1992 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Speyside

Brand: Longmorn 1992 (Archives)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 19 Years

ABV: 48.5 %

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Malty, Woody and Fruity with Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Oak and lots of Fruit such as Orange, Berries and Peach. Papaya Cream and Pineapple as well. Besides those I get Vanilla, Wax, Nuts, Lemon and hints of Good Dark Chocolate, Vinegar and Peanut Butter. Unfortunately the Alcohol is not yet fully integrated.  

Palate: Bitter-Sweet, Spicy, Herbal and reasonably complex with Orange, Malt, Papaya Cream, Pepper, Cloves, Cinnamon, Licorice, Stroh Rum from Austria, Oak, Vanilla, Honey and Walnuts.

Finish: Bitter-Sweet, Nutty and Dry with Walnuts, Coconut, Peanut Butter, Vanilla, Strong Tea, Bourbon and Spices.

I added a bit of Water and the Fruit and Malt on the Nose are enhanced. But Palate and Finish become quite Spicy. Better sip this Longmorn neat.

Rating: 82.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5  - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: Archives is the relatively young own label of Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase from the Netherlands. This Longmorn (Third Release) was distilled in October 1992 and was bottled at Cask Strength in May 2012. It matured in Ex-Bourbon Cask # 86607. Only 60 bottles were reserved by Whiskybase. This whisky is non chill-filtered and non coloured. The 1988 expression is sold at around 95 US Dollars but it won't be easy to get it.

The Longmorn Distillery is located in Longmorn, Elgin and was founded in 1893 by John Duff, George Thomson and Charles Shirres. In 1897 John built the BenRiach Distillery next to Longmorn. Duff & Company went broke and ownership changed hands various times. In 1978 the distillery was bought by Chivas Brothers which in turn were acquired by Pernod-Ricard in 2011. Part of the production is used for blends like Chivas Regal, Something Special and the new Queen Anne.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is only my first encounter with Longmorn so it's too early to draw conclusions. I certainly like the Papaya Cream Aroma and Flavour. Papaya Cream is one of Brazil's favourite deserts and I like it a lot. The Nose is certainly interesting although the Alcohol spoils some of the fun for me. In general however, this 1992 expression is just a bit too Woody, Nutty and Spicy on the Palate for my taste. However, if that's your preferred flavour profile, you could give this Single Malt a try!   

Jan van den Ende                                                                      June 20, 2013