To paraphrase Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale: There are whiskies and there are whiskies, this is the latter. But more on that in a minute. Before this I’d never had a Longrow, and my experience with Springbank as a whole has been, sadly, limited to a precious few expressions. So when I came across this 2018 bottling of Longrow 18 year old at auction I just couldn’t resist. For the low low price of $110 (plus a 10% buyers fee, 3% insurance fee and a hefty shipping charge) the bottle was mine. I was deciding which bottle to open for my next Dapper Drams review and fate lead me here. This 18 year old single malt from Campbeltown is bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of an amber bronze. The maturation come from 60% refill sherry butts and 40% fresh bourbon barrels. Less than 100 casks per year are filled for the Longrow line, so this is a limited annual release. Right away the nose let’s you know that this is a different kind of single malt. Elegant, mature peat balanced with sherry, a savory meatiness, lemon and orange citrus/oil. They say let a whisky rest 1 minute in the glass for every year in the cask before approaching it. This one needs about 50% more to shine. Once it rests you will get old oak worn smooth, apples, plums, dark cherries and dates. Sweet molasses BBQ sauce, leather, pipe tobacco and creamy vanilla. Lightly salty, ginger, sulfur/spent matches and a light chalky/mineral note. Toasted marshmallows, dark chocolate with cayenne powder (but not hot), chili powder and chocolate licorice. Herbal at times with basil, oregano and mint. Hot fudge, caramel and toffee with a hint of strawberries and black licorice. The palate arrives with some peppery spice up front, followed by luxurious peat smoke and dark sherry. Molasses, walnuts, chocolate sauce, hazelnut and milk chocolate. Ginger, old polished oak, tobacco, leather. Caramel, caramelized peaches, juicy raisins, dates and figs. Meaty, sulfuric, slightly tannic and bitter but as a positive note. Chili spice, Worcestershire sauce, basil. Cigar ashes, lapsang souchong tea with honey and vanilla. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is oily, thick but silky, mouthwatering and fabulous. The finish is medium to medium long at times with peat, chocolate, molasses, sulfur, black tea and orange oil. This scotch is a game changer...quite possibly the most balanced whisky I’ve ever had. The nose is a bit closed off at first, but given enough time it opens up to reveal a beautiful array of aromas. I could seriously nose this for hours without taking the first sip, and find something new every time I went back to it. The palate is luxurious but also packs a bit of a punch. A bit of everything here. After over 350 whiskies under my belt this has to be the best total package bottle to date. My only complaint, if you could really call it that, would be that the finish isn’t long enough. I’ve had some that you drink at 9pm and still taste after you wake up in the morning. This kind of dies abruptly from time to time just as things seem like they are going to continue on. Still, if I could only drink this for the rest of my life I don’t think I would mind at all. 4.75 and I highly recommended that if you see it, just buy it no questions asked. Cheers