Fahrenheit 173 - Whisky

"The king o' drinks, as I conceive it, Talisker, Isla or Glenlivit"   (R.L. Stevenson)

The peaty, musty, intense Longrow seems to be a bit of a curiosity, for those who believe that Springbank defines the character of Campbeltown single malts. It is true that Springbank has been the leading Campbeltown brand since the Campbeltown whisky collapse at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the current Longrow whisky, named after the Campbeltown dis­til­lery that closed in 1896, is actually closer to the old, tra­di­tional Campbeltown style.

Longrow 14 yrs. 46%: Nice, peaty, muscular nose with a softer note of fruit. The fruit grows stronger in the palate but in the finish the fruit overflows and somehow collapses. For me, this almost ruins the whisky; a veritable anti climax. (76 p)

Longrow (SMWS) 1990 14 yrs. 56.9%: Peaty and musty with an unusual fruitiness and ditto spiciness. Hmm, curry? Curry sausage! The society nickname for this whisky is "smoked sausages and curry" =) Fairly sherried, but with an unusual sherry. Very nice finish, however. (85 p)

Longrow (SMWS) 1990 14 yrs. 57.8%: Light, bal­anced palate with a nice fresh fruitiness at first, then de­velops quite a bit of peat (86-87 p)

Longrow 1992 10 yrs. 46%: Light, sweet nose, with a candy-like articifial fruitiness and also peat. Light palate with fruit, spice and peat. Fairly dis­ap­point­ing finish. (87 p)

Longrow "Dreams" (Moon Import) 1987 45%: Unusual nose with peat and a note of engine oil. Quite peaty palate with a musty peatiness. Busy and power­ful but calms down a bit towards the finish. Wonderful palate and finish. (88 p)

Longrow (Cad) 1992 9 yrs. 56.8%: Powerful, peaty, musty nose with a shy note of oranges hiding behind the peat. Full, rich palate with lots of flavour: Musty peat, "youthful" spice and also very nice sweet fruit. At nine years, one of the best bourbon casks I've tasted. The new whisky of the month! (88 p)

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