I still have some samples lying around from a Bottle-Share organized by the Belgium ‘Gedeelde Vreugde’ forum from 7 of the 8 Whisky Exchange Anniversary bottles. The only one not available at that time for the Bottle-Share was the Japanese Karuizawa 1982. Luckily, I have that bottle sitting on my shelf so in the end, after months and months, there will be a full report eventually.

Nose:
Lots of dried fruits and lots of wood. A hint of smoke in the background, but something cheesy as well. Weird. There are a lot of spices and still a lot of wood. It reminds me some more typical Japanese whiskies. Anise, wet oak, something fresh. There is a LOT going on here. Pine cones and resin.

Taste:
The taste builds gradually to a fairly massive crescendo. I get some lemonade (the lemon-lemonade, in Dutch lemonade is a general term ;-)) but also a hint of something viscous, almost greasy. Lots of spices again, cinnamon, ginger. Quite dry later on but also peaches, peppers, plums and. Beefy as well.

Finish:
The finish also build up at first. It starts off quite gentle but intensifies quickly. Dry and dusty with a lot of sweetness. Again, very spicy. Again, beefy. I also get a hint of tree bark.

This is one intense dram. There is so much going on that I usually don’t get many flavours. In this case that was different and that made me fall in love with this a little. At some points I thought it would be too much. Too much scents and flavours, too many directions, too woody. But just at the edge to that description it held back a bit.

I’m not sure if the balance is all that perfect, but I simply love the more or less endless journey you can take within this whisky to discover everything that’s going on!

Longmorn 1969-2009, 39 years old, 57.7%, used to be available at The Whisky Exchange for about € 225.

Nose: 10
Taste: 9
Finish: 9
Overal experience: 9
Price/quality: +1

Total: 38 points

The other TWE 10th Anniversary reviews:

• Amrut
• Clynelish 37