There are a few well-known Longmorn 1969 releases in the Cask series by Gordon & MacPhail. Here’s a twin-cask bottling that I didn’t know of until Bert Bruyneel offered me a dram.

Longmorn 23 yo 1969 (61,2%, G&M Cask series 1993, cask #3721 & 5297 btl.)

Nose: a punchy attack on vanilla and the most beautiful, warm, polished oak. A lot of leather. Gooseberries and tangerines. Yellow plums. Apricot marmalade. Then a whole series of exquisite beehive notes (heather honey, pollen, wax) – I adore these kind of notes. Hints of dried flowers and verbena tea. Mint as well. White chocolate. Impressive complexity with such a close interweaving of all the elements. Mouth: slightly hot but so good! A big fruitiness, with plenty of tropical fruits: guava, tangerine, passion fruits, peach, kumquats. There’s some wood and tannins, sure, but it’s never too dry. Quite some spices towards the finish (pepper and vanilla). Some roasted nuts, Gianduja chocolate and a hint of smoke in the background, right? Finish: long and leathery, still peppery, with drying oak and a vanilla-infused fruit salad.

Tropical notes, beehive notes, juicy oak… what a wonderful stream of fruits. And so punchy. In line with all these great Bowmore 1968s or old BenRiachs. Thanks Bert!

Score: 94/100

Tasted again 14/04/2012: same score