Longrow 11 Year (2007) Springbank Society

Review by: The Muskox

Here’s another one of the amazing bottles my buddy Tim poured for a bunch of us at a tasting at his place. This one’s was a crowd favourite at the tasting, but my palate was shot by the time we got there. Tim graciously let me pour a sample for myself for later, which I finally got around to pouring the other night. Let’s see if it measures up!

Distillery: Springbank.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Campbeltown.

ABV: 56.9%, cask strength.

Age: 11 years old. Distilled in 11/2007. Bottled in 03/2019.

Cask type: Refill re-charred sherry butts.

Price: Not available at the LCBO. ~$140 CAD for 700 mL in Alberta.

Color: No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

Nose: Fresh and fruity. Lots of green tropical fruit. /u/smoked_herring mentioned papaya and pear especially, and I definitely get those, as well as coconut, lime, and banana. A sweet yeasty wort flavour as well. Some spice too: cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of turmeric. There’s pastries and salted butter, as well as a dustier sweetness that almost reminds me of corn. The peat is way in the back, showing up as seaweed, celery, and, bizarrely, kerosene.

Water adds some orange oil.

Palate: Fragrant up front and throughout. Lots of green fruit and flowers. Oh, here’s the peat. Funky, savoury, industrial, and unmistakable. More papaya and salted butter. Some bitter oak in the middle. Toasted sesame seeds, then buttered caramel corn. Green raisins and coconut water. Hand cream?

Water mellowed the peat and added another layer of creaminess, as well as more green fruit and floral notes, orange blossom, yogurt, cocoa powder, ginger, tobacco, and nutmeg.

Finish: Fairly long and scented. Strong coconut water, lime, pear, and flowers. Lightly buttery and salty. More hand cream.

Water added some peppery spice here, as well as more tobacco and greenery.

Notes: Wow, I can’t believe that I don’t like it so much. Well, I guess I can believe it, since I really don’t like papaya or coconut water. I love the nose, but the palate was mostly tart green flavours and bitterness for me. The peat and buttery flavours couldn’t quite get in front. I also couldn’t shake that ‘hand cream’ note. What it does have going for it is oodles of complexity, nice tropical and spice notes, tasty butteriness, and flavourful peat. All signs of an excellent whisky. I guess it just didn’t really do it for me.

I’ll direct you to /u/smoked_herring’s review for the opposite opinion. To quote: “God I love pears and papaya”.

So maybe that’s the difference.

Future Muskox here, I tried this whisky again a couple months after this review, also blind but poured by a different friend. I liked it a little more than this first time, and even correctly guessed that it was this exact bottling. Still not my favourite Longrow.

Final Score: 78.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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