Longmorn 25 yo 1969/1994 Centenary vs Longmorn 20 yo 1964/1985 Intertrade
Longmorn befuddles me. The modern stuff seems so unyielding and passive-aggressive, but the old stuff is so expressively rich and luxurious. Is it just a question of time, whether spent in the cask or in the bottle, or was a little bit of magic lost every time they tweaked something?
(whisky.com)
Also I believe I mentioned this before, but the stills at Yoichi are exact copies of Longmorn. Masataka Taketsuru, who spent time here, must have liked her distillate.
Longmorn 25 yo 1969/1994 Centenary 45%
A bottle I won a year ago and forgot to retrieve till recently!
Nose: So very beautiful. Such lush fruit, such elegance perfectly paired with a discreet oak. Lychees and yellow plums, touch of passion fruit-mango going on too. Not ascorbic or citrus sharp but the opposite – mellow, ripe and pulpy; yet again not obscenely so but in sophisticated velvet and kid gloves sort of way. I sort of feel the oak, but the yellow hues of pollen and honey and this buttery weight is salivating. Reminds me of the Whisky Agency Speyside 43 yo 1973
Palate: Very coherent and well integrated. Much more obvious spice than on the tongue, and here it is more on sour yellow marmalade also a fair dose of herbal-bitter tartness begins to build to the point it becomes quite loud! Also showing itself here are these old grease tin notes that are so close to glass. Not heavy or huge as expected but I feel this coating complexity that is so subtle you can’t pick them apart.
Finish: Long. Cooked citrus sweet-sour tartness. Hints of glass becoming apparent too.
Phenomenal. That they used to bottle such exceptional whisky as an official amazes me, and at 45% without a care!
Longmorn 20 yo 1964/1985 Intertrade 56.8%
A gift from a friend – happy belated birthday… 2015…
Nose: And off to the other end of the spectrum. This is firmly in the thick and sherried camp. I get some bovril and tar, bit of gunpowder, the deep purple of dates and shrivelled grapes. Just the merest hint of ‘chinese medicine shop’. Ordinarily this would not be my style, but this is also far from being a monster in that category. in fact it displays a very moist and lush side, and something like the sting of chopped bark-and-sap. Hmm.. burnt gristle and hot pans? Mortlach?
Palate: Thick powerful stuff. Woot… Tannins are loud and clear, and these burnt meat, roasty ovens, soy sauce savouriness is BIG. There was a flash of purple, but it’s not even sweet right now. Getting real herby-dry like heavy pine and sage. Burnt juniper cones? Yet I find this to be.. not out of balance despite it’s heaviness, which says a lot as there are so many ultra tannic first fill sherry whiskies bottled today I cannot abide with.
Finish: Forever, savoury roasty oaky and thick.
This is an objective score I feel is fair for whisky of this calibre, and the quality is indeed high. It is very very good in fact. We will never see sherry casks of this quality again.
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whiskyrific 
How fortunate! Once upon a time I used to quite enjoy Longmorn… had one last night – Longmorn (1990/2015) 53.7%… was super excited try then did and went… hmm…. Not bad but not stupendous either.
All the 90s Longmorns I have had required a boatload of air to open up somehow, maybe that’s the trick with yours too!