Dutch importers Han and Maurice van Wees bottled no less than 8 single casks of Longmorn 1996 in 2013-2014. First a set of five bottlings in the #7231x-7232x series and then three more in the #10508x-10509x series. All of these casks come from the Signatory Vintage stocks, who bottled a lot of sister casks in their own series.
I believe this was the last one, released during the Pot Still Festival 2014.
Longmorn 17 yo 1996
(59,0%, van Wees ‘The Ultimate’ 2014, sherry butt #105084, 594 btl.)
Longmorn 17 yo 1996Nose: starts slightly (saw)dusty, but the fruitiness follows. Red berries, dates, sticky toffee. Hints of crème brûlée and heavy syrup. Slightly vegetal hints in the background, as well as some leather and chocolate.
Mouth: very deep, dark sherry again. Chocolate, plums, raisins, as well as herbal notes and plain oak. Not entirely clean, but it gets away almost unnoticed because of its richness. Pepper and clove. Dark fruit tea. Hints of cedar oak and leather. Mon Chéri. Tobacco too.
Finish: very long, drying and herbal. There’s liquorice, spices and preserved cherries.
A proper sherry bomb. I feel it’s a little heavy on the oaky / herbal notes, leaving me yearning for more bright fruits. I’ve heard some other bottles in this series were a little more balanced. Sold out. Thank you, Wim.
Score: 87/100