Longmorn 1996 / 2009, Carn Mor Vintage Collection

Several Longmorns have appeared on Whiskyrific, but they’ve all been well aged examples (a ’69, and 2 early 70s). Here’s a 1996 just because.

Longmorn lost it’s coal heated stills in 1994, so this whisky was distilled with steam coils. The worm tubs were replaced by shell condensers in much earlier 1974, so modern Longmorn like this one is almost a different whisky.

Longmorn 1996 / 2006, Carn Mor Vintage Collection, Hogshead cask no. 156794, 46%

  Nose: Young and spirity. Lots of mashy starches and chewy cereals, and dry pine wood. Gentle lashing of dry wood spices, and a lightly supple oily body. Sweet cream.

  Palette: Spirity, and nail polish. After a few moments quickly becoming rounder and sweeter. Drop of honey, wood resin and some ‘green’ bitters. Getting dryer with dry spicy aromatics.

  Finish: Short, dry spice.

Ok, so it’s clearly way too young. 13 years for a spirit that needs decades to show itself? No slight on the distillery here. But despite its age, its already got all these little hints and characteristics that suggest a beauty in the making.