Longrow 18 Year

Light peat smoke, old furniture oak and clementine rind on the nose. Warm and oily mouthful. Orange, candied fruit, and slight herbal note (chamomille) on the palate. Light oak spice and ash on fairly long finish. Yet another great expression from J. & A. Mitchell and beautiful representation of the Campbeltown whisky region. Love it.

Nice, balanced, and smokier than it is peated, though I wouldn't describe it as smoky either - considering how partial I am to anything coming out of Springbank, I'm actually glad I blind-tasted this whisky. I would have perhaps overhyped it in my head. The nose is a tad underwhelming, with hints of smoke and pear (maybe mandarins as well); it's actually much more pleasant than it sounds. The palate is medium-bodied and oily, with a touch of nutmeg and mineral (pleasant spices). As for the finish, it was alright. All in all good scotch, but not more than that.

Really surprised by this whisky. Longrow is pitched as the peaty oily cousin of the springbank family and up against the Springbank Burgundy, 18, Green and Halzelburn 12 amongst others I tasted on the night it didnt really shine. Very light and subtle. I still did like it but def wouldn't buy a bottle especially for the price. I see from other reviews on line some people have also had the same experience i.e. a completely different flavour profile and style from what is promoted. There seems to be large batch variance year to year