Longrow Red 11 Year Fresh Port Casks
Single Malt
Springbank // Campbeltown, Scotland
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jonwilkinson7309
Reviewed November 8, 2019 (edited December 5, 2019)Another night in NYC, another whiskey bar. This time, The Whiskey Ward, on the lower east side. The Whiskey Ward is a casual place with a neighborhood bar vibe, albeit one with 400+ whiskeys. It was a quiet Sunday night, and the wife and I took seats at the bar. The whiskeys are listed on chalkboards suspended from the ceiling, as well as in a three ring binder at the bar. The bottles are lined up on asymetrical shelves behind the bar in a highly random fashion. Chatting with the bartender, I learned that the owner frequently buys new whiskeys, adds more shelving as needed, and fills the shelves in no particular order. The disorder is apparently compounded by bottles being returned to different locations after each pour. I found some charm in the chaos, and since it was a quiet night, the bartender took her time hunting for my selections. In several cases she determined that the bottle must have been finished, although it's entirely possible that it was there but neither one of us was seeing it. After a couple of misses, I selected the Longrow Red 11 Cabernet Sauvignon Finish. The bartender gave me a pour and left the bottle. While I was giving it a few minutes to sit, I noticed that it wasn't actually the Red 11 Cab Finish, but the Red 11 Port Finish. At that point, the Port seemed just fine. The nose and palate did not surprise - there's dark berries, peat smoke, and a little bit of char. It has what I think of as the Campbeltown density, and an oily and rich texture. Overall, very nice. The one surprise was a bit more of a mellow, rounded off profile than I expected. The answer, as I now see from the prior reviews, may be in the age of the bottle. This was apparently a 2015 or 2016 release, so it has possibly been sitting open on the shelf for several years. As best I can tell, a few years and some air has not been unkind. While I'd still like to try the cab finish, I have no regrets trying the port instead.The Whiskey Ward
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