Longrow Red

Longrow Red is an annual release of around 9,000 bottles from Springbank Distillery using heavily peated spirit which has been matured in red wine casks.

They choose a different kind of wine cask each year and to be honest I've never really got on with it, the 2015 I tried ended up being thrown down the sink. Lets see how the 2019 compares....

First a little history:

Longrow is the name of A83 road in Campbeltown which runs from the centre of the town North towards Glasgow and used to be home to a Victorian distillery of the same name. One of the first distilleries in Campbeltown it was founded in 1824 by John Ross (who also owned the Kintyre distillery 1832-1920 in the town) it produced a heavily peated whisky, common for the time.

Info from Alfred Bernard's book c1886:

The distillery has two barley lofts and uses a pair of kilns to dry the barley with peat before it is stored in one of three malt barns. A small steam engine is used to run the malt mill (grinding machine) with the mash tun feeding six washbacks and two furness heated pot stills. The distillery produces around 40,000 gallons (182,000 litres) of whisky a year. It's largest warehouse could store 600 casks.

John died in 1886, aged 85, and the distillery was acquired by William & James Greenlees; it's cramped town centre location made it impossible to expand and modernise, it was closed down in 1896.

The Springbank bottling plant, across the courtyard from the distillery and sitting under the bell tower of the Lorne & Lowland Church (also built by John Ross), is one of Longrow's three original warehouses.

Springbank resurrected the name in 1973 with the distillation of a heavily peated whisky which it called Longrow, the first was released in 1980. Peated to around 50-55 ppm, using the double distillation method (rather than Springbank's 2.5 times or Hazelburn's 3) with the second distillation using the spirit still with a the worm tub rather than condenser, Longrow accounts for just 10% of the distillery’s production.

Now I have a little bit of a love / hate relationship with Longrow - I love their standard peated expression but haven't got on well with their wine cask finishes. In fact the 2015 Red Pinot Noir Casks is one of only a handful of drams which I've not been able to finish and actually poured the rest down the sink....

Let's have a look at the whisky:

 

Distillery notes:

 

The Longrow Red 11yo spent the first eight years in bourbon casks then three years in refill Pinot Noir Barriques from New Zealand. There are approximately 9000 bottles available worldwide.

 

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Creamy, red apples. Homemade rhubarb crumble with lots of confectionary notes. Red liquorice and maraschino cherries.

Palate: Delicate, soft and smooth. A perfect balance of Pinot Noir wine & Longrow. Red fruits, raspberry jam and cranberry. This is followed by burnt embers and tobacco leaf with hints of smoke.

Finish: More of the Longrow characteristics; creamy, smoky, sultanas and some nuttiness.

 

My thoughts:

Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls leave a hairline crack which beads up slowly and falls as slow thick legs.

Nose: Maritime peat smoke, red berries and cherries. A little almond and vanilla. The smoke drifts away a little after some time in the glass. Some cereal notes alongside pear drops and a hint of black pepper.

Palate: Thick oily arrival, chewy - typical Longrow - sweet orchard fruit notes - pears and apricots initially then the smoke rolls in with the red berries. Immediately drying as the liquid disappears. A few more sips offer grapes, coffee and dark chocolate. The smoke is gentle and ashy but compliments the red berries and cherries perfectly.

Finish: 'Chewy' smoke and red berries notes, long lingering vanilla.

Thoughts: This is nothing like the 2015 which I threw away - maybe a bad bottle?  The smoke and berry notes are lovely, the ABV hardly noticeable and definitely no need for any added water. The bourbon cask maturation shows through with the vanilla notes and a little spicy pepper, the Pinot Noir Barriques adding lovely berry and cherry notes. I'd avoided 'Red' after my previous experience and that was a mistake - if you can find a bottling!

Many thanks to @chris_f74 for the sample swap.

Geeky Stuff:

Release	Age	ABV	Maturation
2020	13	51.6%	10yrs Bourbon / Sherry & 3yrs Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon
2019	11	53.1%	8yrs Bourbon & 3yrs refill Pinot Noir Barriques
2018	11	55.9%	9yrs Bourbon & 2yrs Cabernet Franc
2017	13	51.3%	12yrs Bourbon Cask & 15mths Malbec Cask
2015	12	52.9%	11yrs Bourbon & 1yr New Zealand Pinot Noir Casks
2014	11	51.8%	11yrs Fresh Port Casks
2013	11	53.7%	6yrs Refill Bourbon Hogsheads & 5yrs Australian Shiraz Hogsheads
2012	11	52.1%	7yrs refill Bourbon casks & 4yrs Cabernet Sauvignon Hogsheads