New Release: Longmorn 2000-2016 15yo Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask for JIS #12412 55.9%

This was a well-balanced Speyside malt with this specification. Longmorn LONGMORN 2000-2016 15yo HUNTER LAING Old Malt Cask for JIS #12412 55.9% one of 230 bottles, REFILL HOGSHEAD The aroma is fruity, with pineapple, apricot jam, orange, vanilla, buttercream, cinnamon, good oak, and rich. When drinking it, the smooth mouthfeel expands into apricot jam, pineapple, vanilla cream, a rich and deep sweet flavor with oakiness, nuts, and the finish is long. [Good/Very Good] This is a Hunter Laing bottling for the Japanese JIS, of Longmorn 2000, aged 15 years. Although it is an OMC bottling, it was bottled in a special specification cask strength. Recently, I felt that this bottling is similar to the good casks of Longmorn from around 1985, with a rich and matured fruity character and creaminess that is clearly evident in both the aroma and flavor. There's also a nuance of oak without the raw woodiness, making it overall very rich and well-balanced. This is a Speyside malt distilled in the 2000s, and it has reached such a level of fruity character that one might think it's impressive. But, of course, the 2000 distillation is already aged for 15 years. Time flies quickly, indeed. In this vintage range, locals have mentioned that good casks are becoming more available, so perhaps we can expect to see more bottlings with such specifications in the future. Incidentally, there were many people around me who gave this bottle a higher rating than I did. The rich oakiness and the nuances that only good casks can provide are slightly catching my attention these days, so I've rated it as Good/Very Good. However, I think it's of a quality that could also be considered Very Good.