Longmorn Distillery
Address : Longmorn Distillery, Elgin, Morayshire, IV30 3SJ
Telephone No : 01542 783400
Web Site : www.LongmornBrothers.com
Visitors Centre : No
The Longmorn Distillery was founded in 1894 by John Duff and two associates, Charles Shirres and George Thomson. The name 'Longmorn' actually evolved from one of the missionaries named Mo-ernin-og, or Maernanog who brought Christianity to the area surrounding Moray.
Despite his good position within the whisky world in those days, John Duff was crippled by debts because of the great recession in the whisky industry at the end of the 19th century. He was forced to sell everything to pay his creditors. Among the candidates for buying the distillery, John Grant (from Glen Grant) through his company Hill Thomson & Co. In the early 1970's, Longmorn merged with the distillery "The Glenlivet" to create "The Glenlivet Distillers Ltd".
The distillery doubled its production capacity in 1972 and again in 1974. The number of stills went from 4 to 8. Seagram then purchased the distillery in 1977. The Longmorn Distillery is one of the few distilleries who never stopped production. The distilleries belonging to "The Chivas and Glenlivet Group", part of Seagram were bought by the French group Pernod-Ricard on 19 December 2001.
Parts of the production are used in the blends "Something Special" and "Queen Anna".
Here are a selection of whiskies produced at the Longmorn Distillery:
Something Special 100cl 40%
One of Seagram's (as was) most successful luxury retail blends in the 1970s, Something Special is rarely seen on these shores nowadays. But let's not forget that a lot of lovely Longmorn goes into this blend - if you can see past the supremely naff '70s packaging, this is a pretty impressive whisky.
Queen Anne 75cl 40%
Blended Scotch Whisky
LONGMORN 11 Year Old 70 cl 60.2% - Bladnoch Forum
A single cask bottling of just 311 bottles bottled by Bladnoch Distillery. Distilled on 25th November 1997 and bottled on 27th March 2009 at cask strength.
LONGMORN 12 Year Old 70cl 40% - Gordon and Macphail
A good independent bottling of much-loved Speyside distillery, which is justifiably viewed as a classic! Matured in first and refill sherry casks.
Nose: Sherry and fruity aromas - stewed rhubarb with a slight hint of charred wood.
Palate: Fruity with a delicate sweetness. A nutty element also present.
LONGMORN 15 Year Old
One of the truly great Speyside malts, and a bottling that was discontinued and replaced by the more expensive 16 year old. Kevin Erskine from thescotchblog.com gave this the 'Most under-rated Whisky' Award in the 2006 Drammies, saying "Complex, smooth and elegant - and surprisingly reasonably priced - when you can find it."
Whisky Magazine Tasting Notes
Nose: Smooth, rich and elegant. Fruity weight: semi-dried soft fruits (peach), fresh cherry, toffee, tea leaf, pecan, toasted nut. Superb balance.
Palate: Ripe. Clootie dumpling mix, damson, cinnamon dusted on top of rich honeyed soft fruit. Light wood oils. Packed with flavour.
Finish: Long, ripe, dark fruits
Comment: This has fantastic complexity and balance. Subtle yet powerful. Seamless. Very good.
Tasted by Dave Broom
LONGMORN 16 Year Old70cl 48%
The new higher strength bottling to replace the much-loved 15 year old...we're in love with the packaging but not so sure about the liquid or the price yet! It has an austerity to it, and some people praise it for its crispness, while others feel it doesn't have the luxury of 15.
Whisky Magazine Tasting Notes:
Nose: A sweet tempting almost heady coconut fragrance. Like walking among gorses on a summer day. Opens on biscuity aromas.
Palate: Smooth, silky. Enticing. Marzipan, macaroon, Chocolate and cereal bar.
Finish: Drying on pleasant oaky notes. And chewed grass.
Comment: A“sunny” dram. So satisfying. Beautiful example of a well managed bourbon cask maturation.
Tasted by Martine Nouet
LONGMORN 30 Year Old 70cl 43%
Matured in sherry casks, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail
LONGMORN 1985 70cl 45.5% Signatory Cask Strength
Bottled on 16/09/2009 from hogshead 11544 and limited to 232 bottles.
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