Scotland, Speyside: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Longmorn

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Longmorn distillerie
Longmorn Distillery
Longmorn, Elgin
Morayshire
IV30 3SJ
+44 1542 783 042
Owner: Pernod-Ricard
Creation date 1894

photos

Build on the site of an old chapel, the Longmorn distillery has been founded by John Duff and two associates, Charles Shirres and George Thomson in 1894, together with its neighbour Benriach.
John Duff founded the Glenlossie 19 years earlier.
Despite his good position within the whisky world in those days, John Duff was crippled by debts because of the great recession in the whisky industry at the end of the 19th century. He was forced to sell everything to pay his creditors.
Among the candidates for buying the distillery, John Grant (from Glen Grant) through his company Hill Thomson & Co who marketed amongst others the "Something Special" blend.
In the early 1970's, Longmorn merged with the distillery "The Glenlivet" to create "The Glenlivet Distillers Ltd".
The distillery doubled its production capacity in 1972 and again in 1974. The number of stills went from 4 to 8. Seagram purchased the distillery in 1977. Longmorn is one of the few distilleries who never stopped production. Longmorn is part of the collection "Heritage Collection".
The distilleries belonging to "The Chivas and Glenlivet Group", part of Seagram have been bought by the French group Pernod-Ricard on 19 december 2001.
Parts of the production are used in the blends Something Special and Queen Anna.

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

See Help 0 - 40 € 40 - 80 € 80 - 120 € 120 - 160 € 160 - 200 € 200 - 240 € 240 - 280 € > 280 €
 Longmorn: official bottlings
 

Longmorn
15 years
The Heritage Selection
Age
 12 years
Alcohol
 45,8°
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 The colour is gold, the nose rather sweet and full is fruity (peach, exotic fruits) no a slightly woody and vanilla background.
The palate detects some peat hints and some nice fruity touches.
The finish is marked by barley and yeast (beer) with a kind of sweet bitterness.

(la Maison du Whisky)

Another very good whisky from North of Speyside. The distillery is the neighbour of Linkwood, and the unusual alcohol degree leaves an excellent memory on the tongue. A great bottle

At the second tasting, the nose was very rich and sweet. Some vanilla hints were detected, on a slightly peppery background. In the palate, this whisky also develops lots of very complex aromas, fruity and sweet. A slightly hint of peat. A short but rather pleasant finish.

A quite clear nose, with fruit and vanilla hints, and some light tangerine hints mixed with almonds. In the palate, nice aromas, allying the taste of malted barley with some slightly acid touches and fruit hints. The finish is relatively short and confirms the mouth, with however some kind of bitter touches on the background.

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 Longmorn: independent bottlings
 

Longmorn
10 years
Chieftain's Choice
Age
 10 years
Alcohol
 43°
Bottler
 Ian McLeod
=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 
Unlike the official Longmorn version, this bottling is just 10 years old and the alcohol degree is 43°. I do not know if this is the reason of my disappointment, but my impression was from the very beginning that this was not a very great whisky. The aromas are not really impressive and the taste remind me some young spirits. The prestige of the collection did me let this bottle a second chance. It is true also that this bottle is rather cheap compared to other bottlings in the same collection.

The second tasting did change nothing to my first conclusions..

A rather discrete nose with hints of cut grass, menthol and pepper recalls a Lowland whisky. In the palate, a great freshness and little character. The malt seems to be too young. The finish is pleasant, no more. The typical complexity of Speyside malts is hard to find in this bottling.
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Longmorn-Glenlivet
1983
Scott's Selection
Sherry wood

Age
 20 years
Alcohol
 54,5°
Bottler
 Scott's Selection
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Longmorn Scott's selection
The nose is very clear, nice sherry and woody hints, chocolate notes, malt as well. The whole is very complex and announces a great whisky. An excellent impression in the palate, deliciously complex, hints of liquorice mixed with woody and malty touches. At the time smooth and bitter. A very nice finish, lingering and recalling the woody and malty impressions, again between smoothness and bitterness. A very impressive bottle.

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Longmorn
1990-2006
Barrel Selection
Rum wood

Age
 15 years
Alcohol
 46°
Bottler
 Wilson & Morgan
=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Longmorn 1990 Wilson & Morgan
This is clearly not a discrete nose, with its strong animal hints, some stable and wet hay smell. Pepper and some custard aromas, probably due to the rum maturation cask. Rather complex, even if the smell palette is limited, but a nice development from the first impressions to peppery and malty notes.
The palate is sligtly bitter, and some evidence of alcohol presence warms the palate, and then smoother notes appear after a while, while revealing some discrete smoky notes on the background.
The finish is quite long and pleasant, and light alcohol hints come back in the mouth. The finish remains in the same tones as the mouth was, and does not bring any new surprise.
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Longmorn: samples

Longmorn
1963-2003

Age
 40 years
Alcohol
 40°
Bottler
 Gordon & MacPhail
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Longmorn 1963
A remarkable nose with a straightaway conclusion: this whisky has an history. A history of more than 40 years spent in a wooden cask which gave it all its aromatic richness, its tannin without killing its fruity hints. Despite all this long years spent to acquire its qualities in the dark humidity of a warehouse, this whisky remained very fresh, with cut grass hints and this touch of citrus acidity.
In the palate, first impression is bitterness which makes soon room to sherry hints but also some regrets due to the percentage of alcohol. This would have been much nicer at a lesser dilution percentage, or even at cask strength, even if after so many years, the natural percentage could be very close to 40. Probably the pleasure in the palate would have increased, to equal the one of the nose....
And the pleasure of the finish would probably have been even greater. But the finish remains very nice, even if not very long. Woody hints are present, but are accompanied by some other subtle aromas prolonging the happiness.
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Longmorn
Kingsbury 1974-2004
Age
 30 years
Alcohol
 54,7°
Bottler
 Kingsbury
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Longmorn
16 years

Age
 16 years
Alcohol
 48°
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Longmorn 16 ans
The nose is pleasantly fruity and rather flat. A light veil of smoke hiding discrete malty notes. In the mouth, light hints of yeast merged with fruity notes and nutty hints. Generally good behaviour, some complexity but no more. The finish is specially long and marked by hazelnut and may be some chocolate. Good bottle.
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Longmorn
1983-2006
Daily Dram

Age
23 years
Alcohol
46°
Bottler
The Nectar/Bresser & Timmer
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Longmorn Daily dram
Quite a spicy noise. Honey notes behind a light veil of smoke. Some discrete hints of citrus fruit. In the palate, first a great smoothness and a light bitterness following very soon. Quite a pleasant impression of complexity, but also some regrets as this whisky seems to have a lack at character. This is the kind of whisky you'd like to taste as a cask strength. It would probably have fully expressed all its expected potential. The finish is relatively short, and some nutty hints and paradoxically a burning sensation in the throat. Paradoxically because the mouth seemed to be too light.
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Speyside

Speyside Map

The Speyside area is situated at the North of the Cairngorm mountain and goes to the Moray firth. It is delimited by two rivers: the Findhorn at the West side and the Deveron on the East side.
The area is named after the river Spey. Most of the distilleries take their water in one of its affluents; the Fiddich, the Livet or the Avon.
About sixty distilleries from Speyside are described on this site.

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