December 8, 2015

Three Longrow, two new, one old

Longrow remains a rather discrete brand, which I find a little surprising given the smashing 1973s and 1974s that they had a few years ago – not to mention some legendary 1987s. In a way, it’s a bit like Ledaig. I believe Longrow would deserve more attention from the blogging and quaffing masses.

Longrow (46%, OB, +/-2015)

Always a favourite at WF Towers, and proof that NAS, when appropriately priced (that is to say as if they were entry-level whiskies – which they are), can be great. Don’t just price them as if they were 18yos! Colour: straw. Nose: spirit. I could leave it at that. Buttered soot and old woollen jumper, gravel, first tropical rain over a very busy city somewhere in the far-east, coal smoke, bandages, raw malt… Brilliant! Mouth: fantastic. Powerful, raw, uncompromising (they could use Laphroaig’s tag lines), salty, earthy, lemony, medicinal, coastal… I especially love this feeling of salted lemons. Finish: long, more mineral, and more on seawater. As if Longrow was becoming more and more ‘Islay’. Comments: bang-for-your-buck provided you’re not a sweet-vanilla-and-coconut-above-all kind of whisky enthusiast. Otherwise it may be a little too challenging… Totally and utterly spirit-driven. SGP:356 - 89 points.

Longrow 12 yo 'Red' (52.9%, OB, Pinot Noir, 9000 bottles, 2015)

11 years in bourbon wood (aahhh), 1 year in Pinot Noir (heeey?) Seriously, I’m not a fan of red-wine-finished peaters, but while I almost hated the cab (WF 70), the shiraz (WF 79) and the Port (WF 78) have been a little more to my liking. I love pinot noir, but maybe not in my whisky, let’s see… Oh and it’s not even Burgundy or Alsace pinot noir, it’s a Kiwi. Colour: salmony/apricoty. Nose: wait, this seems to work, more or less. Sulphur, blackcurrant buds, floor cloth (typical pinot noir), ham, bananas, then cakes, strawberry jam… I don’t find this particularly unbalanced, mind you. With water: dust, old wine cellar, all things musty, old bookshop in a small northern village (wot?)… It’s not unpleasant, it’s just peculiar. The strawberries have vanished – all for the better. Mouth (neat): rather more difficult. Stems and leaves plus lime and Haribo’s strawberry gums, British strawberry-flavoured yoghurt, a feeling of cheapish champagne rosé, with a gingery fizziness… It’s a fine drink, just not very ‘whisky’ in my book. So far. With water: starts to pitch and toss, so to speak. Old leaves, salt, old brine, dust… Finish: long, smokier again, void of any fruitiness. Comments: oh, why not? But you know, grape and grain… (not talking about sherry, Madeira, and other such wines). SGP:465 - 78 points.

Phew… Another one please…

Longrow 1987/1999 (55%, Samaroli, cask #141)

Always loved Samaroli’s tasting notes on the back labels. You never quite knew if that was all a little clumsy, or extreme avant-garde Italian poetry. In any case, this one’s ‘reach and pulpy’ and has got ‘lucky heather in flower’. Very artsy, isn’t it! (I know, I know, that’s the pot calling the kettle black)… Colour: straw. Nose: they may have broken the mould, because after 1987, this style was never to be found again. Fantastically limy and almondy at first nosing, then delicately smoky (heather smoke indeed?), then wonderfully medicinal and coastal at the same time. Tiger balm and lemongrass, oysters, and a little soot. Then embrocations, more tiger balm, menthol… I find this nose stunning, just like other 1987s used to be (all Signatory or Samaroli, the De Niro and Pacino of Longrow). With water: burning fir wood, tincture of iodine, mashed turnips, perhaps celeriac, pickled samphire… Oh so very peculiar! Mouth (neat): perfection in its very own genre. Wine vinegar, seawater, bone marrow, sharp lemon juice, smoked oysters, liquorice wood, ashes… Shouldn’t work, and yet it does. Extreme mezcal? With water: becomes a little gentler, but this sharp lemon-and-coal-smoke combination just roars. Finish: long and very salty this time. More seawater. Almondy and lemony aftertaste. Comments: oh why haven’t we bought more of these when they were available? A style that’s nowhere else to be found, the Frank Zappas of malt whisky (older Ledaigs being the good captain, I suppose). SGP:366 - 92 points.

(thank you Massimo)

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