25/07/2020 Two Longmorns to cheer up a dreary day

It is one of those Saturdays that feel like a bad Sunday. My mood is accordingly bad.

Longmorn 29yo 1985/2015 (51.9%, Hunter Laing Old & Rare A Platinum Selection imported by DJK Imports for K&L Wines, Refill Hogshead, 251b, L15 194 PB OAR0243): nose: sharp and spirit-y, it has some fruit (quince jelly and waxy citrus skins -- unripe citrus), solvents (acetone, cellophane, latex paint) and a drop of pine essence. Then, it changes to unveil damp bung cloth, wet cork and hay in hessian sacks. In a matter of minutes or two, it morphs again, and this time, it is to reveal cereals (warm oats, pot ale, puffed rice). In the end, a small quantity of dry white wine joins the party too (Riesling, probably), hand in hand with caramelised apricot in a leather pouch. After the first sip, the nose offers plastic caps (used to hold saffron) and oilskins. Mouth: very sharp, edgy, even, it cuts the tongue neatly and deeply, pours lime juice onto the flesh wound, then rubs ground white pepper into it. Peppery grapefruit, a hint of warm cellophane here too, ginger-and-cinnamon bubble gum (the brown Boule Magique, for the 1980s kids amongst the readership), American cream soda, unripe gooseberries and greengages. It is quite difficult to tame. Fortunately, it makes me salivate profusely, which helps attenuate the sharpness. The second sip is fruitier, even if said fruits (orange, satsuma, greengage) are not very ripe. Finish: hot and spicy here too, with a newfound  bitterness to boot (crushed bay leaf). Ground white pepper, nutmeg, crushed cardamom, pine needles and tree bark (larch or cedar), sawdust... It is very woody, yes. The first sip has delicate milk chocolate, but it is short-lived. The second sip is all about wood. I so want to like this one more. It is good enough, just not a fantastic cask, and I find it a stretch to think of it as an Old & Rare Platinum. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)

Longmorn-Glenlivet 21yo (46%, Cadenhead, b. ca 1990): nose: it is a completely unfair match. From the get-go, this is bursting with tropical fruit; papaya, mango snakehead fruit, dragon fruit, lychee, jack fruit, decaying pineapple and maracuja, persimmon and pink grapefruit. Next to that ridiculous display, a pouch of Virginia tobacco, a bottle of Anjou rosé wine, apples and pears, soaked in sangria, a mahogany chest of drawers, fig relish, and some flowers too: lilac, bulrush, honeysuckle. Strangely enough, the fruits lose steam, whilst the flowers gain momentum. It only takes a bit of swirling the glass to bring the fruits back, though -- phew! In the back of the nose, a discreet, earthy note catches on too, but yeah! Total destruction by fruit, innit. Mouth: soft, mildly pickled, it soon reassures me that it has lost none of its power to the angels. Peppermint, laurel leaves, money-plant leaves (that is crassula ovata convoluta, for the botanists), leeks or green onions... and then it begins again -- peppery papaya, dragon fruit, snakehead fruit, stale pineapple, a dash of pink-grapefruit juice, chewing tobacco, calf book-bindings done yesterday, tonic, pine drops, flowering currants -- rhaaaaaaaa! How good is this? Finish: a little less fruity in the finish, it has the same peppermint, this time augmented with liquorice root, bay leaves, a freshly-cut suede jacket, pine resin, lilac and green tomatoes. Oh! It does still bring some tropical action, with dragon fruit, sweet lemon, Chinese gooseberry, unripe pomelo, lime zest and aromatic tobacco, all drowned in a river of tonic, slightly bitter and quinine-like. 9/10

And the winner is...

The one with the dodgy fill level.
No wonder I needed reassurance!