Longmorn 15 Year Old

This whisky is overrated in my opinion. You don't see many reviews of it any longer, but I was fairly unimpressed by it; then again, I'm not a huge Speyside drinker.

Nose: Floral and fruity overtones mix with mellow oak and some pleasant grain-driven esoterica.

Mouth: Honey, nougat, toasted barley, English muffin toast, alcohol flair, pasture butter.

Finish: Not terribly long, nor is it short. A kind of metallic tinge? New Orleans Beignet with extra powdered sugar. The oak comes through and catches the sweet overtones with a slight bitterness but it is not overpowering.

The above metaphors seem agreeable enough. But does this whisky deserve to the be Number Ten on the Connosr Highest Rated List?

Certainly not. It is smooth and creamy but not terribly exceptional in my book.

The fact that Longmorn 15 is rated so highly today is a testament to the quality of old style locally sourced and locally managed whisky making as compared with the newer corporate style of whisky making.

I miss the old days when Scottish people owned most of the distilleries in Scotland and multinationals did not call the shots like stock brokers tending their portfolios.

A treasured position of mine, I was surprised at how much was left in the bottle. I wish I’d bought more before it was discontinued, although I’ve yet to try the 16 year old, put off by the consistently poor reviews (at least compared to this).

The spirit is amber in colour and has a pleasing glass coating viscosity. The aromas are mainly sweet with toffee, molasses, vanilla with a sprinkling of cocoa and orange blossom, quite captivating. The viscosity is present in the syrupy mouth feel and there is a nice alcoholic attack from the idiosyncratic percentage. The flavour profile promised by the aroma is delivered in full with an added backbone of malt. The finish is surprisingly clean given the syrupiness before with development of some new spicy peppery notes, good and long.

I should really open that bottle of the 16 year old on the shelf, it can’t be bad stuff if it's got any of the character of this most luxurious of malts. I try and characterise malts as to when and where they could be most usefully appreciated, but this one defies categorisation, aperitif, after diner, summer, winter or in a hip flask it would do equally good service.

I had a super hard time trying to locate this discontinued bottle from Longmorn. The 15 year old has been replaced by the 16 making this crowd favorite quite a serious collectible.

I managed to get hold of one after reading some rave reviews pretty much every where and was waiting for some alone time to sample it. As it turned out Christmas was the day.

There is precious little information on this Speysider (cask, etc) for some reason which makes me very curious to find out the type of cask used to craft this fine spirit. I know there's a mix of both bourbon and sherry but I would really like to know the type of sherry and the lengths of time in each wood.

While the lack of information is frustrating the spirit is anything but. This is an example of good old fashioned skill showing off in the form of nicely controlled flavors.

My sample is from a brand new bottle from 2010 and bottled at 45%

Nose: Brown chocolate. Coffee. Berries. Oak. Quite dry on the nose. Fennel. Aniseed. Hint of mint. Cherries. Black peppers. Raisins. Black licorice. Salt. Clove. Quite a bouquet. The sherry is on point without over powering.

Palate: Honey. Salt. Chocolate. Peppers. Oak. Cinnamon. Oranges. Melon. Dates. Fruit cake. Christmas pudding. The palate points to a delicate Oloroso or PX influence some where in there.

Finish: Medium. Oily. Oak. Cinnamon. Cardboard.

This is a very tasty single malt. I can understand why it has legions of fans. And I feel by discontinuing it's production it has become even more coveted.

One of the more assertive Speyside flavors you will find.

Confuse the Longmorn 15 with the Longmorn 16 at your own peril. The 15 is in a different class altogether. The Sixteen year, while competent, lacks the sophistication and balance of its slightly younger sibling.

TASTING NOTES

Color: Rich amber in the bottle and lighter in the glass.

Nose: Strawberries and cream, balsa wood, goatskin leather, alpine flowers, silky soft Dulce du Leche, toasted barley.

Palate: Soft and delicate feel in the mouth, oily goodness. If poured from a newly opened bottle, give it some time to breathe. Redwood bark, caramel, Grape Nuts, a little metallic interplay from the copper still, creamery butter, marble rye toast, Speyside tingle in the nose (very mild), honey suckle.

Finish: medium long. Copper lingers with sugars, cereal notes, and nectar. A hint of bitter oak at the end helps to reign in the sweeter notes agreeably and with panache.

Final observations: Exquisitely executed and balanced scotch. No, it's not a magical mystery dram with an extremely complex taste bud experience, but it is absolutely delightful and restrained in the best possible way. Just as sheer power is not the "end all be all" of good scotch, neither is multivarious complexity.

This scotch is pleasantly "old school" and would be quite at home next to a very good scotch sitting on the bar--way back in 1978, when your dad, the original hipster, could still make the young girls dream.

Do you know where Bulgaria is? That's right, folks, it is in Southeastern Europe. A former communist country. A relatively poor one as well. The Great Powers' whipping boy of the past. Some say, an underdeveloped country. Maybe these folks are eventually right from their own high chairs.

And do you know what one of the best parts of being born and living here is? That we are the last in Europe to experience the good stuff? Why is this good? Because, once something good is out of stock/production ceased in the West, there is a very good chance one can still find plenty of it here and not just in private collections, but sitting quietly on the shelves of some specialized shops and no one noticing it. Just like Longmorn 15 Year Old.

Longmorn 15 Year Old has been stopped off production some years ago and has been replaced with some abomination of a heir: the 16 Year Old, which is... let's say, a very prodigal son. It's incomparable to the good old 15 Year Old. I have ordered 3 bottles of the latter at €32 each three days ago. I have given away on of these to my colleague, who is also a connoisseur, even a fanatic of the good old single malts. These were the last three bottles in this shop, but maybe I could find some more. And I surely will. Why? Because it is simply divine. I love Speysiders, but this one is... Read on, my fellow "connosrs".

Hard sherry nose with omnipresent brandy feeling to it. Strong licorice and burnt toffee. Dark chocolate and cocoa. Sweet tobacco, old leather. A hint of citrus fruit bunch. Is it Gucci Classic perfume the thing that I have put my nostrils above? No, it is not. And thank God, because this dram is way better. Almost no spirit kick to the nostrils. In summary: a very fulfilling nose. Close to my perfection benchmark. Maybe it is even proudly sitting on it. Time will tell.

Palate: very complex, I dare to say: multidimensional. Sweet toffee and ripe morello, while the brandy feeling is still omnipresent, even glued to the inner cheek skin. Slight burn, that is threatening to deliver a lot on the finish. Some lemon juice, but sweetened with dark honey. Sweet roasted nuts. A hint of tangerine. White Eiswein. This body is thick and chewy. Not very smooth, which is the only palpable drawback for this one. But the taste is divine. It conquers all. I could compare it to other malts, even doctored, finished ones that I also quite like: Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, Glenfarclas 105, but this competition they cannot win, not even hope to. The multidimensional feeling to this palate is humongous stuff, head and shoulders above everything else I've sipped.

Finish: more morello and raisins from white grapes. Very slowly fading, wearing a lemon dress. A very palpable brandy feeling and warmth all the way. It is strong, very strong, but the burn is smooth and gentle. The curtains are falling, but slowly, gently and leaving you wanting nothing. Except another Glencairn, containing this potion. It's a God's gift.

If you can lay your dirty, callous hands on a bottle of Longmorn 15, do not hesitate. It will melt your heart and leave you a better person. They do not make them like this anymore. Sadly. And the best part for me? That I have another bottle stored deeply. Some friends of mine asked me if I mind selling. But I cannot sell my heart. So I will just keep it. The selfish me! But I am just a man, not a God, right?

The Longmorn 15 has something of a cult following ever since the distillery did away with their 15 year old in favour of a 16 year old. I’ve never tried the 16 yo, but I’m told by more than a few people that it’s a lesser whisky. Now the 15 is already phased out completely, so it’s only through good luck that my friend happened upon a bottle of 15 yo selling for about $50 CAD at a small mom and pop shop. I imagine the owners were selling the bottle at the original price it held when they first got it in, and didn’t know that this has since become an absolute treasure for collectors. When my friend tried it, he absolutely loved it. I was quite curious myself, so he kindly offered me a 100 ml sample to try. Here are my notes.

Nose: Grassy and malty. Lovely crisp fruit notes, mostly apples, pears, and citrus. There are also floral notes, toffee, vanilla and honey. If neat, you’ll find more toffee and orange notes. Not overly complex, but pleasant and inviting.

Palate: This is a creamy whisky. Citrus and lemongrass greet us first. Crème brulée, ginger, violet, lavender, nuts, cinnamon, sherry, licorice, white wine vinegar, marzipan, and a picnic basket full of red apples. Sweet and floral with some big, tingly wood spices worked in.

Finish: Once we get past the explosion of spices, the finish is very much a continuation of the palate. The floral flavours continue, as does the oakiness. Finally there’s grass, malt, baking spices, orange rind, and vanilla to round out the medium-long finish. Sampled neat, you’ll find more oak, burnt toast, milk chocolate and oats. Overall it’s an interesting, drying, and spicy finish

This is good. With some classic Speyside flavours and very pleasant grass and floral notes, this is initially very approachable. The grassiness in particular is quite unique. But this whisky isn’t without edge. There are big spices here and a certain astringency that may not be to everyone’s liking. It’s a standard Speysider with a few extra quirks. Best without water, in my opinion. This was a fun one to try. Grab it if you see it.

I want to start this review by saying that this whisky rates number 1 in my collection of well over 150 whiskies. It also rates number 1 in our whisky club amongst members. It is truly a spectacular whisky.

This speysider is a ‘dearly departed whisky’, no longer made and replaced by the 16 year old. However, you can still get it at auction and specialist whisky shops if you hunt for it and I encourage you to do so!

Colour: Amber to deep golden

Nose: Smooth, rich and elegant, toffee, malty

Mouthfeel/Texture: Mouth filling, creamy

Palate Smooth and sweet , clean, soft fruits, slightly drying.

Finish: Long finish, slightly nutty, very very elegant

I cannot over stress how good this whisky is. If you haven't tried this before I promise you it will have a profound affect on your appreciation of whisky. I am buying and storing as many as I can get my hands on while old stocks hold out and am constantly asked to provide bottles to others (I am fully licensed).

Replaced by the 16 year old with its 'showy' bottle and packing for the foreign market, the 15 year old is a truly spectacular single malt, get it above the 16 year old every time.Track a bottle down, and then find as many as you can!

The Longmorn 15 year old - RIP - (lets hope I have enough bottles to last my lifetime).