Longrow 10 Year Old 100 Proof

I saw this beast on an obscure website for the price of €59,- so after good experiences with both Longrow and Springbank I couldnt go offline without ordering it. It came in an ugly red carton box with very little information but hey, it's whats on the inside that counts right? Right: 100 proof strong, no filters, no E150, 100% peatsmoke dried barley, distilled twice in direct fired stills and 10 years in a quality Bourbon cask.

Nose: Without water its a bit closed but pretty approachable at this high abv. Soft heathery smoke, strange farmy smells, beewax and also some sour rhubarb and good white wine. With water it really opens up. Much more fresh yellow fruit and flowers. ripe Banana, apricot, peach, orange blossom, but also more dirty peatsmoke. The smoke is there all the way while the other notes keep changing all the time. Its almost no use writing them down. This makes it quite a complex but very enjoyable nose if you dont mind the farmy dirtyness.

Palate: Bang! Here is where the alcohol shows itself. After a very misleading short, soft arrival all the flavors roll in like a lava Tsunami. Fresh vanilla cake and multigrain bread, salty sticks, cookie dough, Triple Sec, white chocolate syrup, hazelnut cream, spicy ginger, damp wood, and some brown sugar Rum like flavors. Lovely The smoke and the peat are always there, not dominant at center stage but very well integrated and balanced. Its not of the medicinal kind, but more farmy, heathery and herby. Its readily drinkable at 57% but a little water makes it a bit more controllable

Finish: Big, very long and satisfying from medium sweet honey to a little dry oak, peat and some moccha bitterness. After a few minutes I get a Cantaloupe melon.

This is whisky from the past, or how I imagine it would be like. Another very good one from the Springbank artists.

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