May 14, 2014

Longmorn in their twenties

Longmorn 21 yo 1992 (52.5%, Jack Wiebers, Great Ocean Liners, bourbon, cask #110994) It seems that for Mr Wiebers, whisky’s only an excuse for displaying nice pictures of ships these days… Of course I’m joking. Colour: pale gold. Nose: typical, between cider, earth and tinned fruits at first nosing, then more grass and ‘light’ herbs. That would be plain grass, then a little rhubarb and a little lime. Very fresh and zesty for Longmorn. With water: becomes much more typical, more Longmorn, with a western fruit salad. Apples, pears, plums and such… Mouth (neat): starts malty, rooty and gingery, not really fruity, with a bready/yeasty side and then oranges. Goes on with muesli and quite some white pepper from the oak. Sour dough, leather. More lemons after a few minutes, more fruits. With water: apples and chlorophyll. Finish: medium length. More apples, more greenness, more raw malt. Comments: a good one. SGP:551 - 81 points.

Longmorn 28 yo 1985/2014 (50.6%, Adelphi, cask #9907, 247 bottles) Colour: straw. Nose: this time we’re having a rather milky and grassy one, with odd medicinal touches, antiseptic, bandages… Some camphor too, mint leaves… So it’s even more unusual than the previous one. Quite some vanilla too, some custard... With water: becomes even more custardy. Some beer, rather less medicinal notes, although hints of embrocations do remain. Bandages. Mouth (neat): starts spicy and rather eau-de-vie-ish, with rawish notes of distillation (not quite feints) and plums and apples. Goes on greener, leafier and, well, grassier. An unsexy Longmorn. With water: some earth coming through, also green oak. Finish: long, green, oaky. Comments: very good for sure, but another one that could have been fruitier. Yes, more ‘Longmorn’. SGP:451 - 82 points.

Longmorn 28 yo (53.8%, Jack Wiebers, Wiebers Brothers, 120 bottles, 2013) Colour: full gold. Nose: ah this is very different again, this time there’s a mustiness, moss, mushrooms, some damp earth and sand, then cigars, grasses after the rain, then rhubarb and kiwis (yup, pretty green)… I quite love this! With water: relay lovely! More cigars, woods, incense, earth… Mouth (neat): it’s a really punchy one, with more depth than the others, more complexity, with cider apples, earth, drops of kirsch, cherries, some ale and a touch of pineapple (perhaps). With water: full Longmornness. Oranges, ale, Turkish delights, bergamots, apples and all that. Mints. Finish: long, fruity, firm, with a bitterish grassiness in the aftertaste. Comments: only the finish was slightly below par in my book. SGP:552 - 86 points.

Check the index of all Longmorn I've tasted so far