I guess by now not much of an introduction is needed for the ‘They Inspired’ series by Michiel Wigman. Single cask whisky, selected by the master himself, with a portrait of someone on the label that Michiel finds inspiring.

We’ve had musicians, political figures, and now we’re doing a round through the whisky industry. This Longmorn shows Hans Dillesse as portrayed by Hans Dillesse.

The whisky is from the Longmorn Distillery in Speyside and, by the look and taste of it, matured in a bourbon cask. Michiel recommended to add a drop of water to it, but I forgot. There was only 2cl in the sample, and while trying it on our weekend on Terschelling I didn’t go through documentation when tasting a dram!

Then, not entirely surprising in this case, there’s the issue of price. I know I moan a lot about at least that part of the current situation in the world of whisky. But let’s say there’s gradations in expensiveness. I think this one is pushing it a little bit. A 10 year old Longmorn at more than € 200 is a hard sell for me.

While I love what Michiel is doing, and especially that he very much holds his own standards quite high, I’m struggling to justify a tag like this. Let’s see if the whisky makes up for it!

Sniff:
A sweet, bourbon cask Speysider for sure! Lots of pastry cream and vanilla notes from the bourbon cask. Baked apple and ripe pears, canned peaches too.

Sip:
The palate quickly builds up with lots of white pepper and oak shavings. A bit sharp but still with quite some pastry sweetness with tinned fruit salad.

Swallow:
The finish shows more notes of oakand barley than before, when there was mostly fruit and pastry.

A bit sweet and straight forward. Nice enough, but I would’ve loved for the spirit to get a bit more room. I think the cask was rather active and imparted quite a few notes of vanilla and other aromas and flavors typically found in a bakery. While that’s all very agreeable, it doesn’t often make for a complex and deep whisky.

Of course, I forgot about adding water and that might indeed make a lot of difference. I guess I’ll have to find out from someone who has a bottle!

87/100

Still available through Dutch Whisky Connection.