2003 Gordon & Macphail Distillery Labels Longmorn 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Matured in a first fill Sherry hogshead and a refill bourbon barrel. The previous release gained a very favourable review from Serge Valentin at whiskyfun.com (see below). This should be very similar.

Notes from G&M... Nose: Delicate Sherry aromas mingle with milk chocolate; vibrant seville orange and dried fruit notes come to the fore with time. Hints of cinnamon and nutmeg add a warm spicy undertone. Taste: Peppery yet sweet: Dashes of warming white pepper develop into rich fruitcake flavours highlighted by toasted almonds, candied cherries, and twists of orange peel. Finish: Complex: Charred oak combines with liquorice and milk chocolate. 43% Alc./Vol.

Review on the previous release... What’s good when you keep using old labels, is that you’ll become fashionable again eventually. Fashion is all circles, they say. Colour: gold. Nose: oh, shoe polish! Green tobacco leaves! Mineral riesling! Cough syrup! One style that we enjoy a lot at WF towers, even if this came unexpected. 2002? Are they sure that wasn’t 1952? Mouth: perhaps a little drying, but this surely isn’t modern. Where else, except in Campbeltown, would you find some salted sweet mustard and this much tobacco? Curiously un-round, but very perfect – if you like this super-old style. Even older than the label ;-). Finish: long, sooty, fino-ish. Fried bacon and chocolate. Comments: a surprise, I had thought this baby would be jammy and honeyed. Ha, preconceptions…
87 points - Serge Valentin, whiskyfun.com