Longrow 1992-1998 - 5 Year Old - Blackadder - Single Cask 75

Longrow is the name given to the heavily-peated, double-distilled single malt whisky made at Springbank distillery in Campbeltown. The barley used to distil Longrow is peated to around 50ppm and production of Longrow is currently about 10% of Springbank’s output. Longrow was made at Springbank for the first time in 1973 and 1974, and these vintages are considered classics and fetch the highest prices at auction. 

Longrow’s first standard bottling was the 10-year-old, which ran from 1985 until 2011; a popular 14-year-old was launched in 2004, followed by bottlings of Longrow aged in a variety of wine casks. The most popular of these is Longrow Red, which was first bottled in 2012, is usually aged between 10-14 years and receives an extended finish in red wine casks. 18-year-old and 21-year-old Longrows have also been bottled in recent years.

Blackadder International is an independent whisky bottler founded in 1995 by John Lamond and Robin Tucek, authors of the seminal whisky book The Malt Whisky File, originally published in 1987. Lamond stepped down in 2001 and the company is now run by Tucek and his children Hannah and Michael. Blackadder’s Raw Cask range famously includes harmless cask sediment added to each bottle - a practice that raises eyebrows and attracts fans in equal measure.

Mild controversies aside, Blackadder International deserve a lot of credit for helping popularise cask strength whisky in the 1990s and for eschewing artificial colouring and chill filtration long before it was fashionable to do so. Blackadder’s hugely impressive back catalogue now stands at well over 1500 whiskies and includes sensational drams from distilleries including Longmorn, Springbank and Highland Park - a testament to the success of the company’s old school approach.