About This Dram

After opening the Caperdonich 21 last time, I decided we should see what one of the other whiskies in the “Secret Speyside” collection has to offer. Longmorn is a strong favourite of the modern “whisky geek”, but is also a historical favourite too.

While it has won many “distillery of the year” awards in recent years for its rarely seen single malts and independently bottled offerings (including some wonderful SMWS bottles), it was historically one of the most sought after ingredients for blends. Indeed it is what’s known as a “top dressing” malt, and was the keystone of many highly acclaimed blends. Indeed, it still is today.

Perhaps one of the most famous proponents of Longmorn’s quality is Masataka Taketsuru, the Grandfather of Japanese whisky, and the man responsible for founding both Suntory and Nikka. In fact, he was so taken with the quality of the whisky that he had the stills for his own distillery made to match Longmorn’s still perfectly! Imitation truly is the best form of flattery.

The official 16 hasn’t been seen in BC for about half a decade, so it was a great surprise and delight to see this appear in the warehouse. An official bottling that is 18 years old and 48% – what a treat. And the price? Well, it’s simply incredible, to be frank. I love it when the delivery driver thinks we’re an airport…

Dram Association Panel Notes

Fennel, blueberries, salted liquorice, walnuts and pear greeted our nose and invited us to discover more. The palate added plums, buttercream, dates and dry port. There was a sweet vanilla cakeyness, almost muffin-like holding the disparate flavours together. Such an array of flavours, there’s some serious fun to be had discovering what’s hiding in this dram.