Review by: The Muskox

Let’s set the record straight here: u/_asipper went to Scotland, visited loads of distilleries, bought all the distillery exclusives, hauled them back to the US, then split them all out for people to try. What a dude.

After trying the Springbank and Hazelburn entries, it’s time for a big bruiser to finish things up. Like the other Campbeltown handfills, this is an infinity cask, topped up from time to time with random cask ends without any consideration or planning.

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Distillery: Springbank.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Campbeltown.

ABV: 57.6%, cask strength.

Age: NAS. Bottled in May 2022.

Price: $90 USD at the distillery.

Color: Pale gold. No colour added, chill-filtered.

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Nose: Spicy and pungent. There’s an extreme almost MSG-like savouriness – Lao Gan Ma, BBQ chips, beef stock, smoked paprika, Heinz chili sauce, and applewood smoke. Industrial earthy metallic notes of machine shop, old tires, and roast golden beets. There’s sweetness, too, though – mango, cola, and lemongrass. A bit of a citrusy orange and coriander character, and something like achiote maybe?

Palate: Oily texture. Sweet and earthy on the arrival, with earthy peat smoke, heavy industrial funk, and more cola and savoury beef. Herbs and citrus as well. Wait, it’s tacos al Pastor! – sweet chili pork, pineapple, lime, onion, cilantro. There’s a little bit of that “hand cream” note I always get in Longrow here, just poking out of the background. Something like coconut and shea butter. Stewed veggies, dill fronds, and heavy minerals on the back end.

Finish: Medium-length. Lingering industrial smoke, with wrought iron, rock powders, deep earth, and iodine. Red and black pepper. Pineapple, mango, and orange peel. Thyme. A hint of bitterness.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Prepare to jump to umami hyperspace!”

Notes: Ooo, this is a fun one. Where the Hazelburn was calm and icy, and the Springbank was balanced and smiling, this Longrow is thrashing around in a mosh-pit and screaming its lungs out. Completely bursting with intense savouriness and various industrial funks. The mineral note, which seems to be a theme of all these handfills, is more metallic here than in the Springbank or Hazelburn. There seems to be more of a sherry/wine cask influence in this one as well. I think the lack of cohesion, slightly disappointing finish, and general wildness keep this a step below the more measured Springbank handfill for me.

I enjoyed this dram on a call with my good friend u/FederalAgents. He loved it as well, but it was still beaten by the Longrow Red Chilean Cab Sav that we each poured right afterwards. u/FederalAgents also mentioned a friend of his who gets his fix of Longrow by buying bottles of this infinity-cask hand-fill bottling at auction for 65 quid, over and over again. From my experience with this, that seems like a pretty good way to experience Longrow.

Final Score: 88.

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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.