Longmorn distillery is located in the Speyside town of Elgin, Morayshire and was founded in 1894 by John Duff & Co. Ltd, a business he had started with some partners in 1876.

In the late 1890's he expanded the business when along with George Thomson & Charles Shirres they created Longmorn-Glenlivet Distilleries Co. Ltd.

John suffered bankruptcy in 1897 and everything was sold to James R. Grant.

 
 

1970 saw Glenlivet & Glen Grant Distilleries merge to create Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd and become the newly named owners of Longmorn.

1972 & 1974 saw two periods of further expansion when the number of stills was increased firtsly from 4 to 6, then from 6 to 8.

In 1977 the company was taken over by Seagram's of Canada but then in 2001 Seagram's was taken over by a joint action from Pernod Ricard and Diageo, with Longmorn being one of the distilleries assigned to Pernod Ricard and run under their Chivas Bro's subsidiary.

 

 
 

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

 

Distillery photos by Hans Dillesse via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

  Longmorn (OB)

General whisky characteristics: Rich, creamy toffee, complex

 
   

Longmorn, 16y, (Ca. 2011), 48% ABV

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Polished pine.

Nose: A fresh leafiness makes this really quite autumnal in character.  With time in the glass this turns much more aromatic with floral notes developing. These are followed further by wood, hints of wax polish and eventually some fruitiness.

Palate: This is even more intense than the nose with rich wood, raisins, figs and a slight pepperiness concentrating on the very front of the palate. There's also a light fruitiness.

Finish: Long and concentrating on the front of the palate.

Overall Impression: This really is a very good whisky and for me, exceptionally good value for money.

 

   
 

 

Longmorn, 16y, (Ca. 2012), 48% ABV

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed blind as part of MMA 2012

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Glowing golden yellow

Nose: A light and leafy suggestion of honey with some faint fruitiness in the background. This is followed by what I can only describe as boiled potatoes (yes really!) and something quite earthy, but not in a peaty way.

Palate: The leafiness prevails here and is accompanied by a slight bitterness, perhaps akin to star fruit? There's also something a little strange, but not quite potatoes.

Finish: Long and leafy, maybe even farmy and with that slight bitterness.

Overall Impression: Fruity and slightly bitter potatoes; surely not? No it isn't as bad as it sounds, but it's not that exciting either, just innocuous. Last year's edition was much better for me.

 

   

 

  Longmorn (IB)      
   

G&M, Longmorn, 12y, 40% ABV

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€€

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Deep amber / rich polished oak

Nose: Malt with very slight aniseed followed by aromatic currants and raisins.

Palate: Rich creamy toffee gradually opening with slightly toasted marzipan and currants with hints of marshmallow.

Finish: Long

Overall Impression: There are a lot of pleasant things going on in this whisky. I like it.

Whisky & Chocolate: Teyuna by Domori (supplied by Franz) Elegant, bitter-sweet, cashew nuts and a touch of honey make a perfect partner for this Longmorn.

 

   
   

Coopers Choice, Longmorn, 18y, 1992, 46% ABV

Refill Butt, Cask Ref. 8460

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics live review

 
 

Glass: Munich Whisky Festival 2011

Colour: Rich dark oak, bronze.

Nose: Richly armoatic hay with creamy toffee make for a very interesting and pleasing nose.

Palate: Hay and grasses lead to red peppercorns, toffee, freshly-cut damp wood and a suggestion of vanilla.

Finish: Long and slightly dry.

Overall Impression: There's quite a lot happening in this Longmorn which deserves a little more of your time. It's a fine dram too.

 

   
   

G&M, Longmorn, 46y, 1964, 53% ABV

Originl cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics live review

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very dark mahogany

Nose: Surprisingly light and floral with aromatic figs, prunes and aged oak marinated in Armagnac. After some minutes the nose expands to become richer, deeper and even more aromatic.

Palate: Rich and very creamy with wood, lots of blackcurrant, black cherries, red grapes and just a hint of the blue touch paper from fireworks.

Finish: Long, very long, in fact extremely long.

Overall Impression: On reading my blue touch paper comment you may think sulphur, don't be deceived, this doesn't suffer from sulphur at all. It's a magnificent whisky, a true great which came oh so close to forcing its way into my all time top 10, just not quite.

 

   
   

Malts of Scotland, Longmorn, 1976, 5.1976 - 5.2011 52.5% ABV

Bourbon Hogshead Cask No.5872, bottle No.5 of 174

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light polished oak.

Nose: Freshly made bread dough waiting to rise. This just continues to expand and intensify to the point where I'm reminded of walking into my Grandmother's house as a child and being confronted with the aromas of bread dough amid warnings to be quiet and not disturb the mixture. This is eventually followed by a big burst of vanilla.

Palate: The bread dough and vanilla of the nose continue onto the palate in a big way, but are accompanied by a suggestion of leafiness. The mouth-feel is creamy and milky to the point where I'm reminded of protein powder supplements I used soem years ago whilst training in the gym.

Finish: Long with lots of vanilla notes.

Overall Impression: Nice, very nice, in fact excellent.

 

   
 

 

Jack Wieber's Auld Distillers Collection, Longmorn, 1976, 35y, 53.4% ABV

Bourbon Cask, one of 172 bottles

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold

Nose: Fruity wood and slightly toasted malt,. The fruitiness reminds me of raspberry, apricot and banana. Maybe even hints of toasted creme caramel? With time in the glass a suggestion of creamy vanilla furniture polish seems to develop.

Palate: More fruitiness here with hints of vanilla, peach and banana alongside gentle and not overpowering aged oak. Very creamy mouth-feel.

With 4 drops of water: Both nose and palate are much lighter and weakened, but the palate does have a suggestion of liquorice.

Finish: Extremely long with creamy vanilla.

Overall Impression: Magnificent, a "Great" even, but forget the water.

 

   
 

G&M, Longmorn, 44y, 4.2.1967 - 5.9.2011, 48.3% ABV

"Book of Kells" series for LMDW, Cask 592

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed (blind) as part of MMA 2012

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very dark mahogany (liquid treacle toffee)

Nose: Aromatic, very aromatic. Floral in a rich and dark kind of way with aged oak in the background.

Palate: Oooh nice, very nice indeed. How can this be so rich but yet so subdued and civilised with lots of floral lightness? It's a gentle giant in the nicest possible way.

Finish: I thought medium to long, but then it just continued repeating in a delightfully very long way.

Overall Impression: Such a dark and rich floral delight. It's wonderful, magnificent, another true "Great" by a country mile.

 

   
 

 

BBR, Longmorn, 19y, 1992 - 2012, 58.8% ABV

Cask 71769, bottled for Whisky.com.TW

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€

Reviewed (blind) as part of MMA 2012

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Yellow (21ct) gold

Nose: Fresh, very fresh and clean with newly polished brass, in fact this just screams English country Inn or hotel, but why? Well it exudes that polished brass, fresh air and even a slightly herbal fruitiness. Very nice.

Palate: Tingly and intense whilst retaining a light fruitiness. There's also creamy vanilla with lots of summer berries.

Finish: Very long, deliciously fruity and intense.

Overall Impression: Something truly wonderful happening here as it's light and fruity but yet richly intense. My kinda dram!

 

   
 

 

Adelphi, Longmorn, 20y, 1992 - 2012, 57.2% ABV

Cask 48433, one of 285 bottles

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€

Reviewed (blind) as part of MMA 2012

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold, light amber

Nose: Faint and gentle gas leak, expanding slowly with time to include a light earthiness. Even though it develops a certain kind of solidity it reamins light and gentle.

Palate: Much more intense and tingly than the nose suggests. A definite intense earthiness here. As I was sampling this blind for MMA 2012 my notes suggested an obviously high abv.

Finish: Long, intense, tingly.

Overall Impression: In the end I added 4 drops of water to this after detecting a high abv and it improved considerably, becoming much more creamy in that earthiness and making it a very good whisky indeed.

 

   
   

Master of Malt, Longmorn, 20y, 25.5.1992 - 19.7.2012, 55.5% ABV

Refill bourbon Hogshead, bottle No.41 of 259 bottles

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€ (only just over €75)

Reviewed (blind) as part of MMA 2012

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Golden sun tan

Nose: Well-polished aged oak with an oaky mustiness too. Then something quite fruitily exotic; Guava maybe? Plus something unidentifiably extra coming into the cocktail of aromas.

Palate: Definitely exotic and fruity, certainly Guava but a little something else too. Also lots of aromatic woodiness, if the palate can be 'aromatic'?

Finish: Long, almost very long.

Overall Impression: Really quite unique in its exotic-ness. These Longmorns of 19-20y in MMA 2012 are really very different beasties, but very good ones indeed. This certainly gets an excellent badge from me.

 

   
   

G&M, Longmorn, 43% ABV

Distilled 1971, bottled 2011

Original cost of this bottle; Unknown

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark oak

Nose: Initially sweet with a suggestion of musty woodiness. After some minutes in the glass it turns from being sweet to quite bitter with some fruitiness that reminds me of banana stem.

Palate: Mild and slightly floral, a bit like (parma) violet but quite pleasant.

Finish: Long.

Overall Impression: Really nice nose leads to a slightly disappointing single faceted palate.

 

   
   

A.D. Rattray, Longmorn, 20y, 58.1% ABV

Single cask bottling

Original cost of this bottle; Unknown

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Pale oak

Nose: My first thoughts are of freshly cut wood alongside faint furniture polish. After a little time this develops to being quite herbal, maybe herbal or mildly perfumed grassiness.

Palate: This has a dry mouth-feel with the perfumed grassiness of the nose continuing onto the palate in a quite intense way.

Finish: Long and intense with that grassiness.

Overall Impression: Quite different with lots of character, I really like this one.

 

   
   

The Whisky Cask, Longmorn, 24y, 51.2% ABV

Distilled 1990, bottled 2015

Bourbon cask

Original cost of this bottle; Unknown

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very pale yellow, almond

Nose: This is intense, almost nose-burning. It's sweet and reminds me of those chocolate-coated fruits available at fairs and Christmas markets. The fruitiness is akin to summer berries.

Palate: Delicately perfumed or floral but very intense or tingly (peppery?) across the palate. It also has a suggestion of nuttiness, perhaps hazelnut.

Finish: Long, intense, tingly.

Overall Impression: Delightful aromas and flavours, I love it.

 

   
   

G&M, Longmorn, 59.3% ABV

Distilled 1969, bottled 2009

Cask No.5293

Original cost of this bottle; Unknown

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich and dark, teak.

Nose: Initially a sweet woodiness reminding me of candy floss. It's very aromatic and develops to suggest an old English country house library .. books, old wood and leather. Delightful.

Palate: Sweet and peppery as a fruity woodiness expands across the palate.

Finish: Extremely long with hints of almond.

Overall Impression: Just wonderful.

 

   
   

Longmorn, 52.9% ABV, one of 209 bottles

Adelphi Selection for Adelphi club Denmark

Cask No.48507, distilled 10.04.1992, bottled 16.09.2015

Original cost of this bottle; Unknown

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark, teak, almost treacle toffee

Nose: Sweet, furniture polish, hints of (polished) wood (oak).

Palate: Very mildly peppery, buttery, caramel butterscotch or brandy snap.

Finish: Extremely long with hints of brandy snap.

Overall Impression: A little hard to describe but delightfully olde worlde.

 

   
   

Longmorn, 17y, 57.3% ABV, one of 670 bottles

Signatory 'Vintage' for LMDW

distilled 01.05.1996, bottled 21.08.2013

1st Fill Sherry Butt, No.72321

Original cost of this bottle; €€€€

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Treacle toffee with a hint of copper.

Nose: Very aromatic with some background smokiness (cigar smoke) and hints of furniture polish, but the whole experience is mildly scorched perhaps like an overheating electrical circuit.

Palate: Peppery dark fruitiness mainly concentrating on plums, also dark chocolate and bonfire embers.

Finish: Extremely long and intense mostly on the front of the palate.

Overall Impression: Bonfire embers and dark chocolate, what's not to love?

 

   
   

Longmorn, 21y, 54.9% ABV

SMWS 7.90

"Welcome Home"

Original cost of this bottle; Unknown

 
 

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Golden Oak

Nose: Dough? Specifically cookie dough? With gentle woodiness and a slightly bitter fruitiness alongside. In fact could it be apple crumble? Maybe. A very pleasant mildly floral background too.

Palate: Mildly peppery fruitiness dances across the palate suggesting apple, cherry & banana.

Finish: Very long with plenty of that cherry fruitiness.

Overall Impression: Quite unusual and hard to define but quite remarkable.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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