Whisky : Longmorn 26 Year SMWS 7.229 “Big Nuts and Spices”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 49.4%

Cask : Refill hogshead

Age : 26 Years (Distilled 4 May 1993)

Nose : Subtle and quiet.  Impression of an early morning farmer’s market just opening as tropical fruits and florals are set out on display.  Walking by the various stands there is fresh coconut cream available by the pint, dried lemon and lilikoi candies, macadamia nut crusted waffles, and toasted Brazil nuts.

Palate :  Medium body with good viscosity and tannic structure.  Açaí bowl at the Farmer’s market: pureed dragonfruit, chopped kiwi, pineapples, macadamia nuts, and creamy yogurt.  Layers of dried waxy fruits parted to reveal dry iso peanuts, dried ginger, roasted peanuts, and a subtle vanilla.

Finish : Medium-short length and dry with dried fruits.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Farmer’s Market Breakfast

Notes : This was really close to being something special— it was just too quiet and too subdued.  When our local tasting group split this bottle we were hoping for a repeat of SMWS 7.219 “Everlasting tropical Love sauce," unfortunately that was not what we got with this bottle.  This was a shadow of that Longmorn’s intense and syrupy flavors.  Still, this was not all bad, it did hit some of the same flavor notes, it just did not hit them as hard.  This Longmorn had a much drier mouthfeel and a flavor profile that was slightly herbal and a bit nutty.  If this had had more body or a longer finish, I have absolutely no doubt that the group would have loved it a bit more.  While people largely enjoyed it, they found it disappointing, especially for a premium bottle.  Overall, I concur with the group, this was quite tasty and I enjoyed it even more coming back to it, but it was just too soft and too dry to really rise above feeling a bit average.