Where do you start at a whisky festival? In my case, the first thing I do is ask around what friends have discovered so far. At Spirits in the Sky the other day, people were saying good things about this Longmorn 2012 bottled by Signatory Vintage. A 12 year old single bourbon cask. I appreciate a nicely fruity Speyside whisky so there, I took home a sample.
Longmorn 12 yo 2012 (58,3%, Signatory Vintage 2024, bourbon barrel #916, 215 btl.)
Nose: bright and reasonably fruity. Lemon peels, sunflower oil and green bananas at first. It gets increasingly syrupy and rich, on tinned peaches and grapes. Then hints of marshmallow and vanilla cake. Dusty hints of flour and fresh bourbonny oak in the background.
Mouth: typical bright style with plenty of fruits. Lemons, green apples and lime peels, with classic barley sweetness as well as some grassier notes. Limoncello and lemon meringue. Light olive oil and bitter lemon towards the end. After a while some grated coconut and gentle oak spice as well, mainly ginger.
Finish: medium length, with plenty of citrus zest, hints of white pepper and oaky notes.
Easy pleasures here. The flawless bourbon cask brings out fruits as well as some gingery spice. I agree it’s good whisky, but this kind of profile is also a little middle-of-the-road. Still available from Master of Malt for instance. Sister casks #914 and #919 were bottled on the same day.