Bowmore 17 OB and Sig Ardmore 1992

I haven't found peaches in the Bowmore 17yo, but I wouldn't doubt that you do. I've never been able to analyze the flavor in a way I was satisfied with. I just find it too complex and too tightly knotted for words. The next time I enjoy it I'll be looking for those peaches though. I have found apricots in some malts, and that's sort of close to peaches...

And I know what it's like when you say, "I wish I could describe the tastes of those malts better than by just calling them 'green'". Glen Garioch, especially the later OB's, have a quality I can't name except by musical analogy: it's not treble, it's not bass, it's midrange - not the strings, not the woodwinds, it's the brass. That probably doesn't communicate well what I'm experiencing, but I'll be danged if I can't find a better way to name it. I prefer solid descriptive references to poetic imagery, but sometimes words fail me.

I had to lay in another bottle of the Sig. UCF Ardmore for the same reason, patiently waiting now for "someday".

That's very perceptive. I've found the same thing, generally. The nose seems to become accustomed to scents quickly and you need either more of the scent to get the same effect, or you need to remove it for a while. I do sometimes shove my nose deeply into the glass, but I use your method first.

Another trick is to put a drop of whisky on the palm of your hands, rub your hands together until the whisky has evaporated and then hold the palm of your hand up to your face as you inhale. This will sometimes reveal more elements but it always makes the whisky seem smokier than it really is. That's how I first found cocoanut in Springbank - other more finely tuned tasters may have found it in the usual manner.

Please do.

Good tasting notes and a good post!

Bart

Just took me a couple of days to have a chance to read it and reply.

DL bottlings are not distributed locally, so I'm a bit envious. I hope they're right about the Laphroaig CS. I've given up waiting for it, but I'll certainly grab it when I see it.

I don't think Samaroli bottlings are imported to the U.S.

Longrow is a whisky produced at the Springbank distillery but is peated to the levels of a respectable Islay malt. I'll leave it to Serge to describe the wonderful stuff.

Bart

Longrow is my favorate malt. It is produced by Springbank but it is double distilled and highly peated like an Islay. There are only a handful of expressions you are likely to find here in the US--all 10 year olds. The most recent ones are '92 & '93 vintage bottlings that include combinations of both bourbon and sherry casks. There is the '91 vintage with separate sherry and bourbon cask expressions. There are also the pre-vintage bottlings which were separate sherry and bourbon cask expressions. All of them are great. I'm partial to the '91 sherrywood myself, but all the vintage bottlings are excellent. These used to cost just over $100, but now are usually around $79.

The '74 Longrow 25yo was released here about 3 1/2 years ago. It is sublime and one of my all time favorates. It was originally priced around $350-400, and you might still find some around for $500 now.

Independent bottlings of Longrow are very rare here in the US (actually they are uncommon even in the UK). I haven't heard of any sitings here in 4 years, but you can order them from UK sources. Samaroli is an IB that has some of the most wonderful Longrow expressions. I have never seen any of them for sale in the US, but I've ordered half a dozen of them from Europe. My favorate would be their '87 millennium bottling at "cask strength," but their regular '87 12 year old 43% is also great.

If you were to order from the UK, one of the best OBs was a 13yo sherry "Wood Expression" at "cask strength". It is breathtaking. Since Longrow is more often bourbon casked and almost never available at CS, this is one to really search out.

If you have not tried Brora, yes you ARE really missing something. I've never had one that was less than great.

Your friend, John

From where is Europe do you order, if I may ask?

Here's a 10 YO Bourbon cask from a Chicago retailer. The only local supplier (Houston area) that has this wants almost double!

Sam's won't ship to CT, and I was looking for a European retailer for bottlings that aren't released is the US at all.

Thanks though!

Well, They ship to Texas and I'd be happy to ship it to you... We could work something out. Have them ship me 2 bottles, I'll send you 1. I'm a helluva nice guy !

I usually order from Sukhinder at the WhiskyExchange:

There are also a couple German retailers that I use much less frenquently. For example you can email Carsten at: snipped-for-privacy@t-online.de

Good luck. Keep us posted on what you order and how it tastes!

Your friend, John

Thanks Serge and John for the run down on the various Longrow versions. I appreciate all the good info. Only the first bourbon and then the sherry cask versions have been on the local shelves (and one bottle of the '74 25yo). No vintage editions yet. By coincidence I was at the liquor store when the first case of Longrow arrived in Austin and I bought one on the spot. I took it to my friend Edd's house and sampled it with him and I thought I had found the perfect whisky. We hurried back to the store and I bought another - Edd bought three! Between us they had nearly sold out in a few hours. I think this was sometime late in in 1997, but I suppose I could be wrong about the date. It was at least a year later (I think two) before the sherry version was available locally. Besides the 25yo (locked in a display case and priced as you would expect) that's all the Longrow I've seen. The only change is that some of the stores have recently dropped the prices from around $100 a bottle to $75 - $80.

Bart