Longrow 21 Year Old is a limited, long-aged bottling of the heavily peated malt from Springbank in Campbeltown. Two decades in cask soften the smoke into something gentle and earthy, and let fruit and coastal notes come forward.
About This Whisky
Springbank bottles the 21 Year Old in limited editions, and the cask mix shifts from one release to the next. Recent editions have been built mainly on sherry casks alongside bourbon wood, sometimes with a small share of wine casks. Recent editions have come out at 46%. Expect less smoke than younger Longrow and more tropical fruit, citrus and mineral character.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Grilled pineapple, grapefruit and quince, with sea spray, wet sand and light smoke.
- Palate: Creamy, with citrus, honey, marzipan, herbs and gentle peat.
- Finish: Long, with tobacco leaf, seaweed and a last trace of fruit and smoke.
Serving & Food
Pour it into a Glencairn and leave it to breathe for about ten minutes before tasting. A single drop of water can wake up the fruit. Serve with Cantonese steamed fish with ginger and spring onion, grilled langoustines, or a ripe Brie.
How to Enjoy
Admirers of Springbank's older releases, and anyone happier with peat as a seasoning than as the main event.
Product Details
Brand: Longrow / Springbank
Country: Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Category: Peated single malt Scotch whisky
Age: 21 years
ABV: 46%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
The name belongs to a separate distillery. The original Longrow was built in 1824 and ran until 1896, right next door to Springbank, and when the Victorian writer Alfred Barnard toured it in 1885 it was a small operation making about 40,000 gallons a year. After it closed, its buildings outlived the stills, and one of its old warehouses now houses Springbank's bottling hall. When the Mitchell family started making a heavily peated spirit on their own site in the 1970s, they gave it the name of their vanished neighbour.