Our second Cambelltown scotch here on S&P (Simon's Glen Scotia tasting aside). It's been fun to learn first hand to what degree the 5 regional classifications are useful descriptors of the bottle's insides. So far, aside from 'Islands', there's definitely a theme to each region so that you can say things like 'this tastes like a Highland' or 'classic Speyside nose' or 'this is a Speyside twist on Islay'. At the same time, each region has their distillery which doesn't match, and each distillery their limited edition or funky cask that throws the flavors out for a loop.
Today we're trying Longrow Peated, NAS, 46% ABV, $105 CAD, Springbank's peated brand.
We sniff around.
Trevor starts us off with sweet peat.
Kyle goes for a honey, apple.
Simon says sweet musty peat. Earthy peat.
Sean says peat and apples.
Lemon goes in and out. Kind of smoky musty preserved lemons. Not as potent as the rest of the aromas.
We cheers.
There's some good heat but overall it's pretty much a copy and paste from the nose.
There's earthy peat, little tart, vague sweetness.
Simon wants to call this savory. Decent mouthfeel.
Salty musty finish.
Reviews: Simon's pick so he starts us off. This falls in his wheelhouse of flavors he craves. Earthy peat, good spice, lemon tart, savory sweet, nicely balanced, that's all good stuff. At the same time there's not a whole lot of depth and complexity. This reminds him of the Balvenie 14 Week of Peat he reviewed a couple months ago, but not quite as good. He puts this at a 79. For Kyle it's a little uneventful. It's decent but just doesn't quite do it for him. He lands on 68. Sean is in Simon's boat. Nothing sticks out but it's a good scotch. Goes 78. Scott puts this at a 66. Not the flavors that he looks for. A little too hot at first. It's got a good mouthfeel but it's not enough to bump it into the 70s. It's an OK scotch for him. Trevor was excited with the nose but it didn't live up to what he was hoping. That said it's enjoyable and he goes 73. Averages out at 72.8.
Overall: This definitely bears some family ressemblance to the other Campbelltown scotch we've reviewed Kilkerran 12. The flavors and the feel are similar but we find this a bit better rounded and the ratings reflect that. This does OK on value, and the earthy peat definitely stands out, so if you're looking for a Campbelltown twist on Ardbeg 10, by all means. For most of us though, it's unlikely we'll buy this again. Simon might.
Cheers!
The S&P Crew
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