Back in my peak whisky buying years (1996 or so), I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a bottle of 21 y/o Longrow, distilled 1974. The bottle is numbered 59/350 on the label and notes cask no. 1550. If memory serves, I paid a little over $100 for it, and always thought it would be a good bottle to open during a special family occasion, etc, but I haven't opened it yet.
I haven't followed the whisky market very closley the last few years, and wanted to find out if this bottle had achieved any collector status...worthy of saving as a collectible versus a consumable.
I've searched the web and haven't been able to find much info on this....any opinions or suggestions out there? Any tasting notes on this?....
I'm pretty much of a "home body" but a rare Longrow bottled in its prime would certainly nudge me out of Austin...
Seriously, the '74 Longrow is a desirable bottle from the early production (almost experimental production at the time) of one of the best whiskies made in Scotland. So it definitely has some interest to "collectors" or more generally, "those who are willing to buy rare scotch whiskies at auction" who include a good number of folks who drink their purchases, I suspect.
Current production Longrow is due for a 14yo soon, unless the distillery has changed their minds about that. It won't be released again as a 21yo for a long while to come though, perhaps for a decade.
Longrow isn't just desirable as a rare collectible though - it's desirable because it's a great whisky. In other words, your bottle is both a great collectible and a great consumable! Based on its reputation I would hasten to add... I haven't tasted any of the early ('73-'74) Longrow distillations. The only one I've ever seen was a single bottle of the '74 bottled at 25yo., and well out of my price range.
There was a little discussion of Longrow recently in the thread "Bowmore 17 OB and Sig Ardmore 1992" where Serge Valentin and John both gave some good background on different versions and availability. In short, as Serge put it, "The 1973/1974 OB are legendary but very, very expensive now." Which augers well for your inner accountant, but less well perhaps for the "lust of the tongue"... or at least the lusty tongues of a couple of free-booting road-trippers!
Park Avenue Liquors currently has the 1974 (Bottled at 25 yo) for sale at $500. Unless the money is going to make a significant impact on your life, I say DRINK IT!
Longrow is my favorate SMS. I have almost 20 expressions. The '74 Longrows are classics and many think the 21yo was the best of the lot. I'm pretty sure that it would currently sell for at least $400 (I would certainly pay that) and possibly as much as $800.
Have you tried any of the other '73 or '74 Longrows?
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