Longrow 18 Year

Springbank distillery, damn it! They keep improving. Because they go the extra mile to make whiskies correctly, I will be somewhat over the top in my praise. The bottle I have right now was filled on March 23, 2018. You can't rush an aged Springbank, especially Longrow 18. You pour it and let it breathe for 15 minutes. This is a pricey bottle, so you don't want to speed through the experience. First, admire the container. Scotch has become about this prestige concept – fake luxury and exclusivity; fancy garments for fancy bottles; at these awful whisky festivals in the U.S., your attire needs to be fancier than the costly admission fee. Springbank is the elegantly dressed marvel; a plain white T-shirt and jeans, among a crowd of expensive suits. It's all about the contents. Poise and personality. The aroma. THE AROMA! Pickled mangoes. Tangerines. It's rich and heavy despite being only 46% ABV. The peat is both floral and savory, like blossoms that are just beginning to fade. Or that meaty flower... what's its name? I'm not a plant expert. Anyway... a perfumed saltiness. Instead of Scotland's cool, rocky shores, the scent transports you to a tropical island. But one where things are starting to pickle. It's typical of a fine Springbank, and this one hits the mark. Longrow 18 isn't something most individuals will immediately enjoy. Some critics might call it difficult. It lacks the widespread, surface-level charm of a model, a Prince Charming, or Princess Fiona before her transformation. Longrow 18 is Shrek. Excellent whiskies are like onions; they have depth. Didn't get the reference? Watch the original movie. You won't transform into a dashing young man holding a measure of Longrow 18, like you might with an old, dignified Macallan. You might become an ogre, or an ogress, or Ralphy. And you'll be stunning, like Ralphy. That fellow – you could dress as him for Hallowe'en... a decent idea for a whisky tasting theme, actually. The taste. A smooth, coating entry that unfolds gradually. Tobacco, overripe starfruit, a hint of honey, a touch of citrus. Moderate spice with significant complexity. White pepper. A little cinnamon, nutmeg, and fennel seed. Then there are unusual notes that somehow enhance the harmony; the elegance of it. A flavor like the smell of a damp sock, like one you wore for an hour after walking through a puddle. A briny, savory quality from seaweed... you see? An onion has layers. Longrow 18 perfectly represents a distillery that refuses to alter. It makes no attempt to attract new customers or modify its flavors to please the typical hesitant drinker who prefers to remain on the edge of every experience. This spirit will never seek you out if you're standing far away, in the queue for Pappy van Winkle, like a gaudy cow. You must approach it. The finish. Extended, unpredictable, multifaceted. A peat that balances between tobacco smoke and a savory smoke. A faint sulfurous note, like a matchstick – that's not just acceptable; it's quite delightful. A medley of fruit preserves. Some toasted nuts. It's well-balanced and developing. And the subsequent sip will offer something different. Like truly exceptional whiskies, this one improves with age in the bottle and also with time in the glass. So, which distillery is the best? Some people find the question offensive. Some have the patience to construct a diplomatic response. "It's all subjective and depends on your palate. It's like saying Brussels sprouts are the best vegetable, while you could just as validly claim spinach. There's no single correct answer." But there is, so cut it out. It's Springbank. Mark: 96/100

Rating: 21/23 I actually liked the standard Longrow better before. My palate must have been off that day, though, because the standard Longrow now seems too harsh. Perhaps this is a different bottling year; I don't know if I had the 2015 one previously. Nose: Intense with scents of bitter herbs and smoke, reminiscent of asphalt on a hot day. Dry grass alongside some very subtle malty sweetness. Minerality leads to light vanilla. Faint roasted meat approaches. A whisper of tangerine with apple. A mellow woodiness fills the base, unifying everything. Sweet bourbon aromas of vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon. A hint of licorice. Palate: Yes, this is immediately superior to the standard Longrow. It offers significant complexity and equilibrium compared to it. There's a good deal of intriguing funkiness. Some aspects are certainly challenging, but no individual flavor is inherently unpleasant. Peat with a bit of tar, smoke, toasted grain, roasted meat, minerals, vanilla, light cinnamon, dried wood, a hint of tangerine and waxiness, a little caramel, subdued malt, and maybe occasional hints of crab. Some dry grass with a heathery quality. Occasional wisps of orange peel. It's hard to grasp all that's happening because there's so much. And it's delicious. The complexity is outstanding, and the balance is superb as well. The maturity is quite substantial, though I wouldn't guess it was in its late twenties or anything. Finish: Gentle peat with vanilla, toasty grain, some minerality with light sea spray, and a dash of cinnamon. Smoke passes through for an extended period. Very faint farmy earthiness and dry grass. A mellow barrel influence helps the finish persist. Occasional subtle notes of meat and iodine evoke thoughts of crab. - Conclusion - I would choose this over the Longrow 13 Cabernet Sauvignon. Both are excellent, but this truly delivers the core Longrow character with enhanced maturity, allowing its essence to shine with minimal interference. I find this to be quite competitive with Springbank 18 (2018) (rated 22). The Springbank 18 might be slightly more refined and balanced, but this is very close. The bolder flavors do stand out more prominently. Lismore 21 (rated 19) is a very fine dram. It seems a bit more cohesive than this one, but also more sulphuric and muddled. I'd say this is definitely the better of the two, although the difference isn't so vast that I'm certain this is better than a 20. El Dorado 21 (rated 21) is being compared because of its high complexity. I find the complexity here to be superior, though the balance might be slightly less polished. Given that I considered Springbank 18 (2018) to be on the cusp of a 22 or 23, and this is so close to it while also being competitive with El Dorado 21, a 21, I'm leaning towards a 21 or 22 for this. My lingering reservation is that the Lismore 21 was surprisingly close, so a 20 remains a possibility. It would be a high 20, though. Allowing this a good 45 minutes to breathe, it truly harmonizes beautifully. I now believe it's closer to a 22. So, I'll award it a solid 21. Truly exceptional. A big thanks to a friend for the sample! I'm now thinking that 18 years might be the ideal age for Longrow, much like it is for Springbank. Well, there might be superior older expressions, but I won't discover them as I can't afford such extravagance.

To borrow a line from a famous spy: Some spirits are just spirits, but this one is in another category entirely. More on that later. I had never sampled a Longrow before this, and my encounters with Springbank offerings in general have unfortunately been quite scarce. So, when I happened upon this 2018 release of Longrow 18 year old at an auction, I couldn't pass it up. For the modest sum of $110 (plus a 10% buyer's premium, a 3% insurance charge, and significant shipping costs), the bottle became mine. I was contemplating which dram to feature for my next "Dapper Drams" review, and fate guided me to this. This 18-year-old single malt from Campbeltown is presented at 46% ABV, is non-chill filtered, and possesses a natural amber bronze hue. Its aging involves 60% refill sherry butts and 40% new bourbon barrels. With fewer than 100 casks filled annually for the Longrow range, this is an annually limited edition. From the outset, the aroma signals that this is an unconventional single malt. Refined, mature peat is complemented by sherry, a savory meatiness, and lemon and orange citrus/oil. They say to let a whisky rest for one minute in the glass for every year it spent in the cask before assessing it. This one requires about 50% more time to reveal its full potential. Once it has rested, you'll discover notes of aged oak worn smooth, apples, plums, and dark cherries and dates. It also offers sweet molasses BBQ sauce, leather, pipe tobacco, and creamy vanilla. There's a subtle saltiness, ginger, sulfur/spent matches, and a light chalky/mineral undertone. Expect toasted marshmallows, dark chocolate with cayenne (but not hot), chili powder, and chocolate licorice. At times, it presents herbal notes like basil, oregano, and mint. Also present are hot fudge, caramel, and toffee with a hint of strawberries and black licorice. The palate greets you with a touch of peppery spice initially, followed by rich peat smoke and dark sherry. Flavors include molasses, walnuts, chocolate sauce, hazelnut, and milk chocolate. Ginger, old polished oak, tobacco, and leather also come through. Notes of caramel, caramelized peaches, juicy raisins, dates, and figs emerge. It has a meaty, sulfuric, slightly tannic, and bitter character, but in a pleasing way. Chili spice, Worcestershire sauce, and basil are present. Hints of cigar ashes, lapsang souchong tea with honey and vanilla round out the profile. The mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied, with an oily, thick yet silky, mouthwatering, and superb texture. The finish is medium to medium-long at times, featuring peat, chocolate, molasses, sulfur, black tea, and orange oil. This scotch is a paradigm shift... quite possibly the most harmonious whisky I've ever encountered. The aroma is somewhat reserved initially, but with sufficient time, it evolves to unveil a stunning spectrum of scents. I could genuinely spend hours just nosing this without taking a single sip, discovering something new with each return. The palate is opulent yet delivers a significant impact. It truly offers a bit of everything. After experiencing over 350 whiskies, this stands out as the finest all-around bottle to date. My sole critique, if it can even be called that, is that the finish isn't extended enough. I've had some drams where the taste lingers from 9 PM until the next morning. This one sometimes concludes abruptly, just as it seems poised to continue. Nevertheless, if I were limited to this whisky for the remainder of my days, I don't believe I would be displeased. A score of 4.75, and I strongly advise purchasing it without hesitation if you come across it. Cheers

Nose: Initially, it smelled more like a Springbank than a Longrow. Hints of vanilla, malted barley, a gentle briny sea scent, some leather, and only a faint sooty smoke. It also had a distinct earthy aroma from the dunnage and woody notes like old cigar boxes. As it opened up, the scents evolved and blended, revealing light honey and dried fruit aromas (apples, pears, prunes). A deep, immersive, oaky smokiness gradually emerged, presenting what is likely the most elegant and sophisticated smoky nose I've encountered. A calm, soft, vast, and fragrant smoke that makes anything from the Hebrides seem crude and immature. Palate: A soft and slightly briny initial taste, which became saltier and quite spicy as it developed. Ginger, but not fresh – more like powdered ginger. Very lightly oily, but not coating the mouth, and also slightly dry. Light fruity notes, but again, not fresh juicy fruit – more like dried fruits soaked to reconstitute for cooking. Over time, the palate opened and gained considerable polish, eventually becoming broad, rich, and mellow. The whisky seemed to effortlessly enter the mouth and gradually fill the entire head, becoming the sole focus of attention. Finish: Medium, with ginger spice – even peppery. A little sour salt and a hint of smoke or ash as it fades, with just the right amount of sweetness to balance the briny and sour notes. This review is a compilation of notes from numerous tastings of batches over the past decade, summarizing my final impressions. This whisky is both subtle and tightly integrated, requiring a couple of weeks to awaken after initial opening, and twenty minutes of resting in the glass with a couple of drops of water is highly recommended. The first time I tasted it, I wasn't that impressed with the Longrow 18; it was my palate that was lacking, not the whisky. Over time, I grew to love its charms and appreciate its development as it emerged from its long slumber in the bottle. I consider it, especially the most recent batches, to be just shy of flawless. It is characterful, satisfying, mellow, and smooth, with endless layers and depths as vast as the sounding seas. Truly a top-shelf dram. There have been three label changes over the years: The first, from 2008-2010, had a bluish-purple label. The second, from 2011-2013, featured a yellow-beige label, and the current batches have a white label with a prominent purple "18". There are slight batch variations, but they are subtle profile changes, not significant quality differences. That said, for me, the current releases are the best they have ever been. "A bat's squeak away from perfect": 92/100 (5 stars)

It's becoming challenging to recall which bottles I've already reviewed. I've never reviewed a Longrow 18? Let's start with the older purple box version. I'm estimating this bottling was from 2010-2012. There's no date on this one. For those curious, I have some cork fragments in the bottle and had to replace the original cork (I just broke the new cork, so this bottle is on its third cork...screw caps, please!). These are currently priced around 200, though my store reduced the price from 240 to 200 the day after I purchased this, the last of the old boxes. Oh well. Nose - I detect sherry and grape bubble gum on the nose. Rich wine and citrus with hints of sea salt. As I explore further, I begin to notice BBQ over salty pork ribs. Taste - This is a truly difficult whisky to explain, which might be why I haven't reviewed it yet. It's sweet, light, and subtle initially. While Longrow Reds are bold expressions of finishing and high ABV, the Longrow 18 is a refined dram, suitable for a statesman. There's peat and sherry, but it's all muted and sophisticated at first. It then erupts on the finish with notes of vinegar, red wines, salted meats, sugar cookies, oak, and that signature Longrow funk. It's almost too subtle and muted on the initial taste, but a powerful force lies beneath. This is a bit underwhelming for me, and I intend to review a more recent bottling for comparison. Nevertheless, the complexity is present, the nose is worthy of extended contemplation, and the flavors are excellent. 3.75 - I can't give this a 4; it's a bit too mild at the start for my preference, but it's an exceptional whisky nonetheless.

This is my final sample of Longrow and the most expensive at 240 at my go-to liquor store. The last two were amazing, so I'm very eager to see what this 18-year-old offers. This is the 2015 release that a generous person provided a sample for me to taste. The nose begins with the breakfast everyone truly desires: a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios swimming in sherry, followed by sun-ripened green and citrus fruits (apple, pear, and lemon), dark chocolate-covered raisins, light peat smoke with ocean waves crashing against coastal rocks, then old leather-bound books, polished mahogany with black pepper, ginger, vanilla crème brûlée, and a slight ethanol burn. The taste has a very viscous mouthfeel, starting with Honey Nut Cheerios, dark chocolate-covered raisins, then green and citrus fruit (apple, pear, lemon), followed by light peat smoke with ocean brine, cave minerality, old leather, and polished mahogany with ginger, mild chili, and black pepper spice, finishing medium length with chocolate-covered raisins, black cherries, vanilla crème brûlée, old leather-bound books, polished mahogany, and light peat smoke. Wow, this one surpassed the other two! The malty notes, combined with salty, funky fruit, minerality, and those aged notes of leather and mahogany make this an absolutely stunning dram. I compared it to the Hazelburn 13 to see if it would be better, and it turned out to be a draw in flavor and viscosity, but Hazelburn would win on value for money due to being close to half the cost of the Longrow 18. Either way, you can't go wrong with either as they are both incredible drinks.