There will never be a perfect whisky. Ever. Few are bad, most are decent, some are good, even less are considered great. Maybe a handful are considered legendary. Today’s selection is certainly not legendary, but it might as well be for lowly bottom feeders like us. I am not a rich dentist, I buy what I can afford. Fortunately for us, we have some disgustingly rich people in our club, so we make them traverse the world in their business travels and buy the good stuff for us. Longrow 18 is one of those bottles brought back across the pond to our tasting glasses. Let’s get to some particulars…

Longrow’s single malts comprise one of three brands produced at Springbank Distillery in the Campbeltown region. Besides being known for distilling good whisky, Springbank is one of two distilleries in Scotland that perform the entire whisky making process on site. Longrow is produced twice a year in small quantities and is double distilled, as per Scottish tradition. Longrow’s malt is “heavily peated” at 50-55 PPM, but you wouldn’t notice from the produced distillate. Where peating starts is not where peating ends, as distillation naturally strips those phenols from the malt, and in the case of Longrow, it feels more like a gentle Bowmore with minimal impact from the smoke. Our selection is bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill-filtered with no coloring.

SWC Group Review

Nose- Rich, honeyed cereal notes. Some smoke with fresh scones. Nice fruit notes of apricot, tangerine and some sugary raisins. Full, aromatic and fantastic.
Taste- Honey over warm biscuit. Berries. Succulent.
Finish- Flavor burst of smoke and honey BBQ. Tad bit sour on the back end with some floral touches. Long.
Comments- Knockout on all fronts. Great display of frutiness, honey, and light smoke in a bottle. A very complete, satisfying whisky.
SWC Rating – 94/100

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.

Contact us at SpokaneWhiskey@gmail.com