Review: Longmorn 18 and 22 Years Old
Founded in 1894, Longmorn is a Speyside Scotch producer that only recently made its entrance into the American market. In early 2024, Longmorn launched 18 and 22 year-old expressions stateside. Both are non-chill filtered and bottled at cask strength without added coloring..
The two expressions will form the core of Longmorn’s American lineup, and the Pernod Ricard-owned brand has plans to make these annual, single-batch releases.
Today, we’re reviewing the 2024 batches of both the 18 and 22 year-old bottlings. Let’s see how they taste!
Longmorn 18 Years Old — The nose kicks things off with caramel apples, light baking spice, ginger, cherry cough drop, and subtle notes of papaya. A light savory element also lingers, like a well-seasoned pan sauce with fresh aromatics. The first sip brings some lovely balance between flavor and ethanol, especially for a single malt at this relatively high proof. The fruit and spice are stronger than on the nose, though in slightly less harmony, appearing as a one-two punch instead of together in unison. Cinnamon, allspice, and ginger float from the tip of the tongue and then back, with papaya and pineapple developing shortly after on the midpalate. The sweetness is reminiscent of macadamia honey — compounded by a buttery mouthfeel — and tiramisu, with a hint of cocoa throughout. There’s a tiny bit of minerality here that pairs well with the sweeter elements for additional depth. The finish is the spiciest element of this whisky, bolstered by the ethanol heat, which finally kicks at its listed proof. (It maybe kicks a bit too hard here.) That’s joined by burnt citrus and more coffee/espresso elements at the very tail end. 115.2 proof. A- / $269
Longmorn 22 Years Old — Oakier, spicier, and less aromatic than the 18 year old, this single malt takes its time to open up in the glass. The ginger note is even more pronounced here, along with Heath bar-esque toffee, hazelnut, praline, and orange peel. It’s frankly a bit less complex than its 18 year brethren. There’s greater harmony here between elements on the palate, with fruit notes veering toward green pear and honeycrisp apple. Sweetness comes in the form of marzipan and yellow cake with vanilla frosting. The mouthfeel is similarly fatty to the 18 year old, though the sweet and fruity elements don’t seem to quite match the younger whisky for both depth and freshness. The finish is relatively mild on heat and leans back toward ginger and cinnamon, then dissipates surprisingly quickly. It’s not short, but with an additional four years of aging time, I was hoping for something on par with or just beyond the 18 year. In this case, there’s a slight regression on both the nose and finish moving from the 18 year to the 22 year. To help account for the slight drop in proof, I tasted them again in reverse order, but achieved the same result. 109 proof. B+ / $430
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