Springbank 12yo Cask Strength vs. Longrow Red 11yo!

Dear friends, followers and supporters alike! A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by swedish importer/distributor Symposion asking me if I was interested in receiving samples for reviewing some of their coming whiskies. On offer was lots of whiskies and as I have done before I only signed up for samples for Springbank Distillery.

Last week a package finally arrived and so today I bring you my review and thoughts on the latest version of Springbank 12 yo Cask Strength, and likewise the latest version of Longrow Red 11yo. Here in Sweden both of these will be launched at the swedish state monopoly the day after tomorrow (the 12th of April), in a so called web-release. The products can be viewed by clicking here and here.

So, in terms of contents/recipe for the respective whiskies it goes like this: The Springbank (around 15ppm) has in this particular case been matured to 70% in sherry casks and the rest in bourbon casks (unfortunately I have received no info on kind of oak for the sherry component, nor filling in terms of 1st-fill, 2nd-fill, etc.). The ABV is 56,3%. Sweden receives 575 bottles (number of bottles produced in total is not stated).

The Longrow (around 55ppm) has in this particular case first spent nine years in bourbon casks (filling not stated), and then two years in french (225 litre) barriques that has previously held  South-african redwine from De Toren Private Cellar in Stellenbosch (filling not stated). The ABV is 55,9%. Sweden receives 612 bottles out of 9000 bottles in total.

Ok, let's do a kind of comparison and see what we have here!

Springbank nose:

Mmm, classic Springbank! Lots of ”warm” and intense, very deep, citric sherrynotes. A great portion of raw-sugar that intermingles seamlessly with the earthy but gentle (kind of leather-y) peaty-ness. Above all, interestingly enough the most prominent things on the nose are stawberry jam, apple sauce and peach candy, all three very delicate and gentle indeed.    

Longrow nose:

The nose on this one is something entirely different from the previous! The very center of the nose boasts of Werther’s creme caramel (intense deep vanilla and melted butter), together with ”old” dark honey (”stiff”/non-liquid honey). In the very upper register there is a wee tad of… Cachaça.  Slight (!!!) traces of peat. There is also a slight, slight, slight touch of very over-ripe pear, but nothing, absolutely nothing makes me think of red wine. The bourbon maturation and white oak has definitely had more impact than the red wine finish and the european oak.   

Springbank taste:

Again, warm and very dry intense sherry! Yes, very dry, but sweet sherry that both makes my mouth dry and makes it water-y. The peatyness is big and definitely warms my chest. This whisky really evolves in my mouth and goes from beautiful raw sugar-y fruity sweetness to a great leather-y dry peatyness (with a big portion of almond paste) that really takes a hold of my mouth. Very ”chewy” aftertaste and my mouth keeps altering between dry and watery. It all ends in some kind of peated overripe banana.

Longrow taste:

Actually, it very briefly starts out on matured Cachaça, everything turns very soft and vanilla- and buttery-ish together with soft milk chocolate but then, thank god, the peatyness shows itself! First as kind of salt liquorice but then as very, very dry and ashy peat (no leather). In the immidiate aftertaste we have something reminding me of elderflower soft drink, but as the aftertaste evolves the peat completely takes the overhand and gets really ashy and beautifully dry. It all ends with a sting to the tip of my tounge and big dryness on the inside of my cheeks

To sum up:

And the winner is… Springbank on the nose and Longrow on the taste! 

Big thanks to Symposion for sending me these samples and for the opportunity to review them before the release! Please make sure to follow my FB-page by clicking here, my instagram by clicking here, and my twitter-page by clicking here. Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes and text by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky, unless stated. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro [at] gmail dot com and by stating the source. 

borrowed from the whisky exchange

borrowed from malt-review.com