Origin: Campbeltown (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Gradation: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd.
Average price: € 150.00
Official website: springbank.scot
Vote: 89/100
Having tried the evocatively named NAS, we return to Longrow with the most aged bottling in the core portfolio.
This is an edition with a limited number of bottles (less than 5,000) that is produced every year, a tradition that began on an ongoing basis in 2011, preceded by an “impromptu” in 2008.
From one vintage to the next, the composition of the casks used changes: sometimes just Sherry, sometimes Sherry and Bourbon, sometimes the percentages of the two casks change, sometimes they use ex-Rum… in short, each vintage is different from the previous one, even very distinctly.
This is the 2019 edition, made up of a quarter of whisky aged in ex-Bourbon casks and the rest in ex-Sherry casks, at a level (for what it’s worth knowing) of 50ppm in an edition of 4,900 bottles.
Tasting notes
The colour is dark amber.
The nose is unexpectedly caressing, of vanilla, ripe cherry, plum and white chocolate, with peat picking up and incorporating the aromas into its meaty, medicinal core. Tobacco. Very balanced and elegant.
The mouthfeel is oily and ashy, with a very pleasant vinous dryness. The dance between peat and fruity notes continues gracefully, with notes of Caribbean cigar, plums, sour cherries, yellow peaches, vanilla, a slight herbaceous hint in the background, a touch of dried fruit. It’s full-bodied, with scents that alternate and mingle with every sip, where the peat plays a leading role without being a show-off, in a very enjoyable overall chorus.
The finish is quite long, ashy and dry with plums and almonds.
An example of great balance and wisdom, with a peat that on paper was supposed to explode and instead knows how to integrate masterfully with the aromas of the ageing barrels. Elegant and sober as you would not expect.