The best-kept secret in Scotch whisky is well and truly out. Longmorn, established in 1893, is a favored distillery among whisky blenders and connoisseurs, but until last year, it was virtually unknown on the single malt map. Now owners Pernod Ricard want to tell the world about Longmorn, and its new single batch 30 Year Old will help extend its reputation beyond whisky’s inner circle.
You may not be familiar with Longmorn as a single malt, but you’ve likely tried some of its output. It’s a key ingredient in Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal, both among the best-selling Scotch whisky blends in the world. After producing multiple millions of cases per year, there has never been much Longmorn left for the single malt market. Only independent bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail have released it with any regularity, but even then just a few hundred bottles at a time.
And despite Pernod Ricard’s renewed efforts to grow Longmorn’s reputation, the corporate behemoth has opted for quality over quantity. The 30 Year Old joins the newly introduced portfolio alongside the 18 Year Old and 22 Year Old. All three will be batched and bottled at cask strength once per year. With limited quantity comes a premium price tag. The 30 Year Old has an SRP of $1,999 (£1,500), joining the 18 Year Old ($280) and the 22 Year Old ($440) in the liquor store’s locked cabinet.
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It’s a difficult price to gauge. On one hand, it’s markedly cheaper than comparative age statements from its neighbors The Macallan ($6,000) and The Balvenie ($5,000). On the other hand, those two Speyside distilleries are among the best-known in the world, and people pay out for those labels for many more reasons than the quality of the liquid inside.
For Longmorn, the quality of the liquid is the only thing it can trade on, but the characteristics that have made it a linchpin in Chivas Regal’s blend are also conducive to it being a rich and complex single malt. Longmorn produces a distinctively sweet and creamy whisky that does particularly well in old age. It’s particularly complimentary in ex-bourbon casks, which maximizes the distillate’s sweeter notes.
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The Longmorn 30 Year Old has been aged in a mix of American oak barrels and hogsheads, allowing that distinctive distillery character to shine through. A pure American oak maturation is a sure sign of confidence. Most whisky makers will inject a different element into the process, such as an ex-sherry cask, to build up complexity. There’s no need with this Longmorn. All the complexity was there right off the stills. It just needed time to evolve. Bottled at a cask strength of 44.5% ABV, this is a pure whisky drinker’s Scotch.
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Longmorn 30 Year Old Tasting Notes
Nose: The whisky’s inherent complexity hits immediately on the nose with a multi-layered tapestry of aromas. There are fruity and floral notes at the top, in line with a typical Speyside whisky. You’ll find vanilla, honeycomb and caramel in abundance, a combination of Longmorn’s natural sweetness and the ex-bourbon influences. That’s all tied in with some more subtle hints of maturity: herbal spices such as sandalwood, cinnamon and cloves.
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Palate: True to form, this Longmorn coats the mouth with an oily texture. It’s beautifully balanced, jumping between sweet, floral and mature as it develops. There is heaps of butterscotch and caramel, intertwined with hints of lemon zest and dried mango. The more aged notes start to develop, with hints of Christmas spices like cinnamon and cloves.
Finish: A truly long finish as those mature earthy and woody notes. Those original sweet notes make a comeback, mixing old leather and oak spice with raspberry jam and dried apricots.
Conclusion: A remarkable whisky from a remarkable distillery. If the name doesn’t quite do it for you, the whisky certainly should. Perhaps not one for the collectors (yet) and certainly not one for the flippers, but if opening bottles is your game, there are few better to open than this.
Score: 9.5/10
– 10 A unicorn: Spend whatever it takes
– 8.5–9.5 Top shelf: Impress your fellow whisky geeks
– 7–8: Great: Buy two bottles – one to drink, one to keep
– 5.5–6.5: Very good: Keep it on the shelf – a good daily drinker
– 5: Not bad: There’s better out there for the same money
– Below 5 – Disappointing
Longmorn 30 Year Old is available through specialist retailers globally at an SRP of $1,999, longmorn.com
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