Review #239 - SMWS 7.267 'Nomad's Tent Vibe' - Longmorn 12 Year

Longmorn distillery - not the easiest whisky to find, but some of their malts are said to be favorites of master distillers from other distilleries (after their own distillate, of course) around Scotland. This Speyside distillery is situated the heart of the sub-region, just south of Elgin; currently, the most common release is the re-launched 16 year old, and this single malt is also available as a part of the 'Secret Speyside' collection.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society matured this Longmorn spirit in a first fill ex-bourbon barrel for 12 years, before bottling it at a natural cask strength of 64% ABV. Considering that strength after 12 years of evaporation, this may be a barrel that was filled at still strength, as opposed to being watered down to the typical 62% to 64% barrel entry strength.

SMWS 7.267 'Nomad's Tent Vibe' - Longmorn 12 Year

Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt

Price Paid: USD 130 (2022)

Age Statement: 12 Years

Strength: 64% ABV

Cask Makeup: First fill ex-bourbon barrel

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled September 11, 2008; 233 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 10 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Nice oak influence with a decent amount of sugar notes - vanilla, brown sugar maybe, and soft floral notes. There's a bit of perfume with the oak, some polished oak as well; with time, subtle scents of berries and white chocolate come forward, bubblegum at times. Elderflower and sweet fruits round us out: glazed strawberry, white grape, and pear.

Palate: The mouthfeel is thick; woody and rich, with caramelized sugar, vanilla, wood spice, and a bit of wood char. Nice baking spices like nutmeg and cardamom - the cask seems to have been quite active. Burnt sugar and a hint of cream add to the baking theme, before fruit arrives: apricot, orange, and fizzy pineapple.

Finish: Medium-long, nice and warm with that high strength. Quite oily and coating, and heavy on the baking spices now - vanilla, baked goods, burnt sugar, and pepper spice. In the aftertaste, there's subtle heather and perfume.

Final Note: Really packed with flavor, and those first fill bourbon casks have been very active during the 12 year maturation, adding lots of oak and baking spice notes. This bottle falls under the 'Sweet Fruity & Mellow' category from the SMWS, but the fruity aspect was a bit more of a subtle undertone for us, and we didn't find the overall experience too mellow, considering the strength.

Not taking the annual membership price into consideration, value for the bottle itself is alright - it does pack quite a punch, and it opened up nicely with time.

Our Average Rating: 7.8 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 6.19