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

Bunnahabhain 1997 Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Bunnahabhain 1997 Heavy Peat

Selected by and Bottled for Wilson & Morgan, Edinburgh

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 13 Years

ABV: 46 %

Colour: Old Gold

Nose: Lots of Peat as could be expected but it does not present itself in an aggressive way. It's comparable to the Softer Vegetative Peat from Orkney and Skye. Consequently I get a bit of this Cabbage Aroma that I don't care for very much. I also suspect the presence of some Sulphur. I got visions of someone striking a match while sitting in Wet Grass. Besides that I also find Meat (Salted Cured Meat rather than Juicy Fat Bacon), Leather, Tobacco, Ashes, lightly Buttered Dry Biscuits, Light Sherry, Lemon and Grapefruit. Some Mineral tones as well.

Palate: Slightly Watery texture. This Bunnahabhain could have been bottled at 50% in my opinion as the Alcohol is nicely integrated. The Palate basically follows the Nose with Peat, Leather, Ashes, Lemon, Black Pepper, Bitter Almonds, Salted Bacon, Herbs, Dry Biscuits, Brown Sugar, Cereals, Wood and light hints of Rubber, Cabbage and Sulphur.

Finish: Bitter-Sweet and Herbal at first and Dry towards the end with Peat, Leather, Ashes, Licorice, Mint, Malt and hints of Rubber and Chocolate.

I added a couple of drops of water. On the Nose the Peat is enhanced and some extra Buttered Toast and Pastry are added. On the Palate and in the Finish Citrus, Licorice and Ashes start to dominate. The Ashes will stay with you for quite a while.

Rating: 84 

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

General Remarks: The Wilson & Morgan Company is an Independent Bottler, based in Italy. Owners are the Rossi family that started importing Blends in the sixties. Single Malt Selection was added in the 1980's and in 1992 Wilson & Morgan was founded by Fabio Rossi to attend the high end Single Malt market. At various distilleries, W&M selects barrels for their Barrel Selection series. Most of the casks mature at the distillery itself. The Bunnahabhain I'm tasting today was distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2011. No artificial colouring was added and the Whisky is not Chill-Filtered. It sells at around 55 US Dollars. 

Bunnahabhain (Mouth or Foot of the River) Distillery was founded around 1881 and is located close to Port Askaig. Usually, the Distillery dries the Malt with hot air or light Smoke giving their whisky a more subtle flavour then most of its Peated neighbours on the island. So today's expression is the exception and not the rule. The distillery normally uses a mix of Ex-Bourbon, Ex-Sherry and Refill Casks to mature their whisky.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This Bunnahabhain expression is labelled Heavy Peat and that's slightly misleading. For sure Peat is the most important Aroma and Flavour but it's not the Heavy Briny Medicinal Peat we know amongst others from Laphroaig or Ardbeg. It's much more comparable to the Softer Vegetative Peat we find in Jura or the peated expressions from BenRiach. Still, you need to be a true Peat lover to fully enjoy this 1997 Bunnahabhain as other Aromas and Flavours are there but play second fiddle. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                     June 18, 2013

Clynelish 1988 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - North

Brand: Clynelish 1988 (Edition Spirits)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 23 Years

ABV: 50 %

Date: 16/06/2013

Colour: Light Golden

Nose: When I opened the sample I was welcomed by Juicy Barley. Almost like Beer. In the glass however, Oak, Vanilla, Buttered Toast and Straw are in the lead, strongly suggesting this Clynelish matured in Ex-Bourbon Casks. A bit of Alcohol there as well as might be expected given the high ABV. Reminded me somewhat of an older Bourbon. The Nose doesn't open up very easily. After a while some timid Floral - and Fruity tones appear as well as hints of Maraschino Cherries and Honey. Overall I get a Woody, Earthy Farmyard impression when Nosing this Clynelish.

Palate: Strong, Herbal, Spicy delivery with Malt, Grass, Oak, Vanilla, Licorice, Cinnamon and Pepper.

Finish: Middle-Long and Dry with Vanilla, Oak, Tea, Honey, Licorice and Spices.

I added a bit of Water and I get some Barley back in the Nose. Hints of Citrus as well. Fruity and Floral Tones are somewhat reinforced. Palate and Finish become slightly Sweeter while also presenting Lemon and a certain smoothness. I advise you to experiment with some Water here.

Rating: 83

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

General Remarks: This Clynelish was distilled in 1988 and bottled at Cask Strength in 2012. It matured in Cask # 009/04. This expression is part of The First Edition bottlings by Edition Spirits. It's not coloured artificially nor Chill-filtered. It costs around 170 US Dollars but the availability is limited. 

Edition Spirits is an Independent bottler founded in 2010 by Andrew and Scott Laing. The Clynelish Distillery was opened in 1819 and rebuilt in 1896. In 1968 a new Clynelish Distillery was erected nearby and the old Distillery was renamed Brora (The Bridges River). Brora was closed in May 1983 and part of the buildings are used by Clynelish, now owned by Diageo.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: 23 years in a Cask is a long time and it's quite natural that Wood and Wood Spice are very important cornerstones of this Clynelish. If you like older (6-8 year) Bourbons you will probably like this Highlander. Personally I prefer a slightly more balanced profile and I would have liked to see a stronger Fruit component. This can't be a cheap whisky of course so I would advise you to try out a sample first to check out whether this Clynelish matches your preferred flavour profile.

Jan van den Ende                                                               June 2013