Whisky : Longmorn 13 Year SMWS 7.233 “A syrupy sweet tale of romance”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 62.3%

Cask : First Fill Sherry Butt

Age : 13 Year (Distilled 30 Jan. 2006)

Nose : Rich, sweet, syrupy, and floral.  A slow walk through a humid tropical botanical garden, sweet candied cherries, stewed oranges, and a faint herbal-menthol.  Rich sherried notes of chocolate and leather came together with the fruit to give the impression of chocolate covered tangerines and Saturn peaches. 

Palate : Thick and fruity this dram screamed sherry.  Quite fruity upfront with bitter oranges, grape fruit, and thick marmalade.  The syrupy quality of the fruits dropped quickly to reveal a puckering dryness that lasted through the finish.  A bit of water brought out orange oil, buttery pastries, light roasted coffee, and dark chocolate.

Finish :  Lingering dryness along with menthol and green coffee.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Awkward Breakfast

Notes :  This proved divisive during one of our local online tastings— on the one hand it offered a bouquet of bold sherry driven flavors; on the other, the cask all but drowned out the wonderful Longmorn malt.  The bottle appealed to those in the mood for a syrupy sherry driven profile, but won over few of those who wanted more of Longmorn’s buttery-pastry malt.

This bottle came out during SMWS’s Speyside Festival in 2020.  It was an attractive bottle featuring a beautiful sloth and the promise of a teenage Longmorn fully matured in a first fill sherry butt.  While I enjoyed some of the bitter citrus notes, this was on the whole far too dry and sherried for my taste.  I was one of the partizans that came into this whisky hoping to find a more harmonious combination of wonderful sherry driven fruit and Longmorn malty pastries.   The Longmorn spirit was overpowered and failed to balance against the influence of the cask except perhaps in some of the herbal/menthol notes.  Overall, this was a bit disappointing for me— but if you love a strong sherry dram, this might fit the bill.  It developed nicely with at least a few drops of water (I ended up adding nearly a spoonful).