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.
About this bottle
Longrow Red is released annually, each year with a different red wine finish and bottled at cask strength. The release for 2018 finishes its last 2 years of maturation in cabernet franc wine casks from De Toren Private Cellars in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It spent its first 9 years in ex-bourbon bottles. Bottled at 55.9% ABV. Longrow is the heavily-peated line of whiskies from the Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 10 parsed reviews.
Post- Thanksgiving drink at a bar in MA that turned out to have a pretty good whisky selection. I always enjoy these Reds even if they never quite reach buy-a-bottle territory. This one has a lovely oily texture, mouth-puckering red berry flavors (cranberry even!) and a satisfying puff of smoke on the finish. A delicious end to the day.
Wow this is a great dram. The 17 year I had a couple of months ago was ok but this was stellar. Really rich red wine flavour powers through and is well balanced by the over 55% abv. 4.25 - 4.5 for me.
Nose is peaty with dark fruits, hints of orange peel and some brine. Pallet starts of with a boozy hit followed by sweet fruits and smoke. The finish is dry and doesn’t linger.
Perfectly well balanced whisky. I get a lot of sweet on the nose like caramel maybe and it stays with the palate and then you get a nice smoke in the end. Its quite lovely.
Deep, rich and woody dram. Caramel, dark cherry and cream. Finish is really interesting; it has a little minty tingle. Really unique. Delicious!
4 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
Tastes like this
Same style and price bracket, best rated first.
