Whisky Of The Week: Longmorn 30 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

The Longmorn distillery has been producing whisky since 1894, when John Duff — who also had a hand in the founding of GlenDronach and BenRiach, and traveled as far as the U.S. and South Africa in mostly failed attempts to spread the whisky gospel — started it up in the Speyside region of Scotland. It's known for the sweet, fruity, classically Speyside flavor that's made it one of the more widely consumed Scotch single malts. But it's quite likely you've never seen a bottle of it on your local liquor store shelf. That's because, for just about its entire lifespan, Longmorn has been used almost exclusively in blends, most notably as the cornerstone of Chivas Regal , which only sells, roughly, about three zillion cases a year (Longmorn also plays a big role in Ballantine's blends).

There are Longmorns floating around via whisky specialists and the secondary market, but the vast majority of them were bottled by independent bottlers who bought casks directly from the distillery, which they then aged and bottled themselves. Gordon & MacPhail , Signatory , Duncan Taylor , Single Cask Nation and many others have released Longmorns over the decades. Indie bottles generally sell for less on the secondary market than distillery-bottled whiskies. That, combined with the relative lack of name recognition, has made vintage Longmorns an affordable option for single malt connoisseurs who like to drink their collections rather than flip or display them. I've tasted a 30 year old Longmorn, distilled in the early '60s and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in the '90s, that I was able to sample only because the owner was unable to find a buyer for it at auction.

That's all about to change. There have been distillery-bottled Longmorns available before, but Pernod Ricard , Chivas Regal's parent company, is putting its corporate muscle behind the effort and creating a new permanent range. In late 2023, the distillery announced the release of its 18 and 22 year old expressions — the oldest ever bottled by Longmorn. And now, they've debuted Longmorn 30 Year Old, which will only be made available once a year on a limited basis, bottled a single batch at a time, with a price tag of $1,999. Each one will be bottled at cask strength — the debut bottling weighs in at 44.5% ABV.

Chivas Regal master blender Sandy Hyslop loves working with Longmorn. Recently, when discussing the 30 year old, he said, "I sometimes get asked, what is your favorite distillery? It's really tricky, it's like asking which is your favorite child, you know. But let's be honest, we all have a favorite child underneath it all. There's always one that's completely over the top, and there's one that you never have any problems with. Longmorn falls into that category. Longmorn runs week in, week out, never gives me any problems. It's a cracking distillery."

Now, a distillery that's easy to work with doesn't necessarily mean the whisky is going to be thrilling. And it's certainly not challenging in the way some older whiskies can be. But that said, Longmorn 30 is also a cracking dram, an absolute pleasure to drink. Aged in a not-fully-disclosed array of American oak barrels and European hogsheads of various fills, three decades in oak has not given it that tannic, spicy edge a lot of similarly elderly whiskies have acquired. It's sweet and gentle, with pronounced aromas of toffee and orchard fruits on the nose. On the palate, it's buttery and fruity, reminiscent of pastries like apple crumble or fig tart, with a long, gentle, lightly dry finish.

Will Longmorn, after 130 years, finally become a household name in the whisky world? Does it really matter? As things stand right now, it's got the cachet of a distillery that's been doing its thing for a century-plus while also carrying the thrill of the new — a nice combination. And while I'm reasonably sure the debut of the 30 year old will make a good investment in the long run, this is one to sip, enjoy, and share right now.