Tastes

Thought I was done but really just wanted to drink sherry finished whisky and I haven't reviewed this one. First off sorry about the price i got this at, it was on sale for half price. Nose - there's a smoky barrel roasted barely note I get on a lot of these malt's aged in super hot climates. Then I get some super sweet fruity sherry. I get berries and figs and raisins and toffee and chocolate and honey. I could nose this all freaking night. I actually might nose this for an hour and I'm going to leave the glass out over night and come back to it. Taste - It's figs, roasted barely, buttery chocolate batter. Added 2 drops of water and the chocolates and smooth creamy notes come out. So many dark fruits here. It's raisins, figs, and god this high heat barley sweetness, it's amazing. This is a bottle I'll cry over when it's gone as I'll never get another or at least I doubt I will see one to buy. 4.75 out of 5. This is truly special. I had this not long ago next to the Vinho Barrique which won awards and myself and a friend we both firmly thought we were drinking a solid 100 dollar a bottle more expensive bottle and while this is more like 200 retail more, lets ignore prices here. It was THAT much better than the award winning Vinho Barrique. This is why I drink whisky.

This is a difficult one to review, this is going to take a while. Nose - It's vanilla and citrus over a light oak. Young for sure. It's really non descriptive. I've added water and it's a lot more vanilla forward, the alcohol has faded out a lot. It's just dusty oak and vanilla. Taste - Salted vanilla and absolutely brings in some raw alcohol. Water mellows things down. There's some citrus, savory elements in here. Wow, I'm really running out of words for this whisky. It's spicy salty and oaky with vanilla. This really requires water to bring out the sweetness and hid the alcohol burn, it's hot and unpleasant neat. As with so many Campbeltowns, I can't go low even with the youth and need for water. There's a really wonderful whisky under this. That said, it's ending my ability to taste whisky going forward as it's burnt my mouth. Great stuff can't recall the price but it was around 100 a bit under I think. I'll likely restock this but I'm a biased fan of this region. I doubt non fans of the region will be overly excited.

This one is actually closer to bottle kill levels than I though, guess it goes on the kill table after the review. Anyway a lot of people have been discussing this one lately and I though I'd go back and review. Nose - So I always get a bit of pepper on this but it's awfully sweet behind that. I get some christmas spice, baking spices, and cookies and vanilla and it's a kid's christmas party really. There's certainly some oak here but it really only gives you oak notes when you're thinking whisky and oak. As this opens the PX really starts to come out, it's that super sticky sweet sherry note, not the drier Oloroso notes. I get even a crayon element here as well now that it's opened up. Taste - The flavor is a lot less of that christmas note. I still get some pepper but the real showcase is ginger bread cookies, there's a hint of that sherry giving this perhaps more of those christmas notes, but really vanilla is the overwhelming element on the flavor profile. Yeah as I get acclimated to the flavors it's vanilla and then for sure PX sherry casks with as I keep saying all kinds of spices all over. This is not what I think of with Glen Scotia or Campbeltown at all. It's unique and very interesting. I must say between this and the victoriana Glen Scotia does some of the most interesting things with oak influence. I'm not sure how they're getting these notes. Maybe it's european oak on the PX casks? Are they storing these barrels somewhere....like in the ocean? Now I'm getting some kind of funk at the end that's starting to give me campbeltown notes, where was that the last 10 minutes? This is a darn good whisky and if I recall it's pretty cheap. Anyway with an NAS I tend to not let these sit in the glass too long before jumping in. I was wrong with this one. Give this a good 10-15 minutes to open up. The sherry comes through however with some time i start get some younger oak notes. I went from a 2.0 to a 3.0 and back to a 2.0. This is a 4.0 in terms of uniqueness and on that note maybe I should score it higher. It however is younger whisky and I can't see myself doing more than 2 pours at a time. That said this is one I can keep going back to. So I'm back to a 2.5.

If I'd known there were so few reviews I'd have done this one sooner. Nose - So I get the springbank/longrow what I call BBQ peat. There seems to be and follow me here, a bit of a wet blanket going on and it's covering up some cherries that are starting to ferment. I'm getting a bit of vanilla oak. There's a sweet element here, almost a fluffed up marshmallow and baked goods element. It's really evolving in the glass. That blanket from before is gone and the sweet notes are coming out, those cherries however are still pretty far back and muted. Water brings out more sweet baked cookies and sugars. Taste - I've noticed with the longrow red's I find them a bit too hot to review though I love them at the full cask strength when I'm just sipping them. The peat, oak, wine, salts, and other notes are just too hard for me to pull apart. This is only 53.1 but it's got a kick. It's also only 11 years old so it's a bit young too. With water it's the classic longrow elements. That sea salt, campbeltown peat, some spices, cookies, savory BBQ, and I'm not a wine drinker so I'm struggling with the wine influence here. I'm getting some funk notes I don't associate with springbank/longrow that I'm associating with the wine. It's not the most enjoyable part of this, but it pushes the complexity and flavor transitions up to 11. They aged this 8 years in bourbon then 3 years in the wine casks. I think 2 more years in the bourbon would have done this one some real good. Still it's just good stuff from a distillery who can't make a truly bad whisky. This is for whisky lovers who want in your face intense flavors, like higher proof, and don't mind a bit of an alcohol kick. For me, I could use more refinement and I think a 13 year old version of this could have absolutely hit the perfect balance of intense longrow red with a bit more refinement. But what do I know? I'm just a whisky drinker who would take on debt if need be to get a new release from springbank (only partially joking). I actually have based on 3 bottles from them this year...and I regret it every minute of everyday!

I swear, gets harder and harder to remember which bottles I've yet to review here. Will be nice once I finish reviewing my open bottles so I know they're all in here :) Nose - sherry is the first thing that comes to mind. There's that classic springbank element here, I know some have called it sulfer but its' something else. It's sparky, gives me a bit of a vinegar note, oak is a part of it. It's almost like going into a rickhouse where wine has been spilled over the oak, it's gone a bit sour, but then I get a buttery bread and caramel. Taste - There's a lot of oak on here, it might be the most oak forward springbank. The sherry I get in big ways on the nose is much more subtle here. I would guess a lot of the oak here is pretty tired and well used. It's sweet up front then turns bitter and given a bit sour, there's a bitter bite from oak tannin. The finish brings in some off sweetness almost an aspartame note (though it's not a bad thing as that note tend to be) and then it heats up on the mouth and brings with it more of the oak and sherry notes again. Just noticed but should note there's a bit of salt at the end I almost missed. Unpeated but I dunno, I get some elements of peat here all be it in low parts. Hazelburn has been for me a weak spot in the springbank lineup (minus the oloros sherry 13 and 14 year bottles) and this is as springbank goes one of their lesser offerings. It doesn't drink like a 100+ dollar bottle of whisky. It is however complex as can be and frankly it's if not in the context of being a springbank, it's really good. Still I can't go over a 2.0 here. I would struggle to find who to recommend this one to. This is for someone who just wants to drink everything from Campbeltown of course I am most certainly one of.

Seems this is the only place to review this, but I am drinking the now discontinued US edition that comes in at a drinkable 43%. Purchased at under 30 USD before tax. Real shame there's nowhere to score the 43% version separately as the gap in a 43 and 40 could be huge. Nose - vanilla, caramel, sea salt, light oak. I almost get a dry bread element here and perhaps even a raw dough. There's a bit of a sour element and good bit of heat for 43%. Nose isn't blowing my mind here. Taste - Oh it's vanilla ice cream and salt and maybe some raw cookie dough. Finish had some toasted oak and just good oak tannin that leave a medium long finish. I tend to be a bit more of a sweet lover in my whisky and while this has all kinds of sweet notes, it's the salty and savory elements that really dominate this. This however breaks that rule as I'd drink this all day everyday and it's priced so freaking well right now. It's a bit spirity (a bit more youthful than 12 would suggest), 43% and chill filtered and you can tell it's a bit lacking in mouth feel, and complexity is low. For 30 bucks get this, heck most I've seen it for is 45. If you can find the 43% bottling get it. I'm not sure the 40% is going to be awful given this does have some heat to it, but I'd rather add the drop if water myself and frankly I kinda like the lively bite a bit here. I'm going 2.0, but if I were to scale this score for the price, this is a 4.5 rating. It's so far and away at 30 bucks the best value I've ever had in scotch, but I don't think that 30 is the going rate for most and at 45 which i've seen it at, I'm a bit less blown away (that is a 50% price increase from what I paid). I could see this being a gateway scotch for a lot of people due to price and just how cool the vanillas and salts play together.

So I haven't had a bookers in years before this and frankly, I've never been a fan. It's just young whisky that comes in super hot to me, but people keep raving about it and this batch got all kinds of love. I figured what the heck. I also jokingly told Jason of The Mash and Drum he's buying the bottle if it sucks. Anyway bottle been open about 3 weeks and I've had about 3 maybe 4 pours out of it. Also of note, I just broke the plastic holder in half pulling it out. What a cheap box. Nose - the alcohol is not muted here 62.35% and coming in at baby young 6 years 4 months and 2 days. Dusty oak, corn, a bit of a red fruit (you could convince me it's an apple). Dusty is my word for this one, I'm expecting a lot of peanut better when I dig in. Water cuts the heat but I'm not getting any new elements here. Taste - Caramel up front, fades into nutty and oaky beam profile. A bit of water and I get corn alcohol new make elements (that sweet new make spirit, very sweet but simple). Maybe some vanilla but I'm just expecting it as it's bourbon. Maybe some corn nuts and there might be a slightly salty element to this. It's not bad and if you want high proof whisky it's nice to have something this high proof around. But this isn't a high quality bourbon, it's not even close to being one. This is young, it drinks young, it's simple, it's boring, and water doesn't bring out anything else. There's no transition, the finish is mostly alcohol heat even taken below 40% and some dusty corn and nutty beam notes. No cherries, no cola, no leather. I'm going with a 1.5 here. Anything over a 1 is well made whisky. 2 means it's actually reasonably well made but not something to seek out unless this is your wheel house. This is just too young, lacks maturity, and I won't even get into price. Maybe I should drink it on ice but at this point I have more water than whisky in my glass and it hadn't changed any flavor points.

I was a springbank fan before this, but this is what turned me into a super fan. I regret not buying more of this. Nose - I get a mix of leather and wool, wet oak, salt, and perhaps a walnut. There's some wine notes as well of course but I don't recall this being so dusty wooly and leathery. As it opens up I'm getting more of a light baked pastry. There's now with about 10 minutes opening up almost a hay and barn element here. Taste - Big and bold and intense. I had to go straight to water as the ABV at first just kicked me too hard. OK so it opens nice and sweet, those baked pastries or overly sweet american white bread. Then you get wine, salt, oak, and that old leather I generally get one super old whisky (is it possible longrow is sneaking in some older spirit?). I'm a fan of this for sure though I'm feeling a bit of palate fatigue to the point I might have to come back to this one later and adjust this. Long and lingering finish, complex, nuanced, and it has a bit of everything. 4.0 score, this is not the best of the springbank line but it's down right special.

2014 edition, bottled early July. This is in the new white boxes or as I like to the call them "should I just throw the box away?" edition. Nose - This reminds me at first of a really sweet red wine. Almost a wine with sugar in it. Then I start to pick out some of the salty notes from the peat. There's a bit of a baked good in here as well. Almost red wine, soy sauce and maybe a baked cookie. then there's a light gently toasted oak note at the end. Taste - Not very sweet up front. Soft and gentle. As it goes to the back of the tongue you get savory salts and then the whole things just goes bonkers with sherry and BBQ and oak tannin and there's even a bitterness here to go with the savory and the sweet and salty. Super complex. So I just did a 2010-2012 range bottle before this 2014. The older bottle was sweeter and had the better nose. The 2014 here however has more going on in the finish and brings in more intense extremes in the bitter, salty, heck there might even be a slight sour note. I think I like the 2014 more but I'm still going with a 3.75. I think longrow 18 in both cases is just missing something for me to push it into the higher scores. Sure 50% would get it there but there's more to it. There's just something missing here. I'll have to eventually get around to buying a few of the newer bottling, I think I had an 18 recently with some friends, but that was a dizzying day of drinking the best of the best.

I swear, it's getting hard to remember what I have and haven't reviewed from my bottles. I haven't reviewed a longrow 18 yet? Lets first review the old purple box version. I'm guessing this was 2010-2012 bottling range. No date to be found on this one. And for anyone interested I do have a bit of cork floating in the bottle and I had to replace the original cork (and I just broke the new cork so this bottle is on to its 3rd cork...screw caps people!). These are going for about 200 these days, but my store literally dropped the price from 240 to 200 the day after I bought this bottle, the last of the old boxes. Oh well Nose - I get sherry and grape bubble gum on the nose. Rich wine and citrus and hints of sea salt. As i explore I start to get BBQ over salty pork ribs. Taste - So this is a really hard whisky to explain, perhaps why i haven't reviewed it yet. It's sweet, it's light, it's subtle up front. If the Longrow Red's are in your face expressions of finishing and high abv the longrow 18 is a prim and proper dram, worthy of a statesman. There's peat, there's sherry, but it's all muted and refined up front. It then explodes on the finish where everything from vinegar, red wines, salted meats, sugar cookies, oak, and this classic longrow funk remain. It's almost too subtle and muted at first taste, but there's a sleeping giant behind it. This is a bit under whelming for me, and I plan to review a newer bottling next to compare. Still the complexity is there, the nose is one worthy of hours of time, and the flavors are great. 3.75 - I cannot give this one a 4, it's a bit too light up front for me, but it's one hell of a whisky.