Longrow 21 Year Old (2020): Review

From the Sprinkbank distillery in Scotland's west highland region know as Campbeltown, we offer for your viewing pleasure, Longrow 21. The 2020 edition. Limited to only 3600 bottles this dirty animal was aged in 95% ex-sherry casks and 5% ex-bourbon. Bottled at a respectable 46% abv.

[@WhiskeyStraightAl]

Great to see the holy trinity of whisky together - you can't beat a good 'dirty' whisky. Cheers.

[@SippersSocialClub]

I was disappointed with the 2019 release, but pleasantly surprised with the 2020. Great stuff guys!

[@topshelfwhisky]

Dustin has both, we will do a side by side at some point but I believe Dustin preferred the 2020 as well. I will say this opened up quite a bit. Did you have a bottle of the 2019 or sample?

[@topshelfwhisky]

@Maester Gryphon Dustin will say that all Springbank needs time to open up in the glass regardless of open bottle oxidation... I tend to agree with him.

[@mikebennett3741]

Nice score, Keith! Enjoying the modest regular Longrow while watching you malt elites. :)

[@tavas666]

you guys should have Extreme's Get the Funk Out playing in the background ;-) PS was fortunate enough to taste this one during a Springbank tasting.... superb dram !

[@DonnerPassWhisky]

Wow good time to show up Keith ! Just bottle killed my 2019 Longrow 18 last night. That one also made me think of Springbank 15 too. Cheers guy's

[@topshelfwhisky]

Give it some time in the glass, it will reward you.

[@sowlegwhiskyreview5501]

Excellent talk guys :) This is a great whisky. I agree with the 21 years rounding the peat a lot almost turning it towards Springbank and with the 46% being quite fine, but cs is just hard to beat. Cheers

[@rsconnor01]

The Three Amigos! Good to see Keith join in. I've been wanting to see some reviews from people I trust regarding this one. Looking forward to opening one!

[@topshelfwhisky]

You have a bottle or three... shocker 🙄

[@primewhisky]

Great review guys, i was a little disapointed in the 2019 version so this one will be interesting to try😋

[@tall3431]

Love the description...."Limited to only 3600 bottles this dirty animal was aged in 95% ex-sherry casks and 5% ex-bourbon."

[@travisfaircloth]

Another great review guys! I haven't tried it but sounds interesting enough. You guys should go in on a bottle of that 1994 25yr Longrow from North Stat Spirits. It's still out there for sale. Refill bourbon hoggy, 130 bottles, 52.1%. pricey af though lol. Cheers fellas

[@topshelfwhisky]

Great suggestion!

[@Vesbolk]

Great team! More of this please.

[@topshelfwhisky]

We are planning on getting together next weekend. 👍🏻

[@christinecamley]

I am lovingly protective of my Lagavulin 25 and other expressions. Love this Longrow but it’s not Lagavulin! Lag continues to be my absolute favourite distillery. Longrow is also amazing.

[@topshelfwhisky]

No disagreement from me. Lagavulin is my favorite distillery, the 2016 (25 year) is special

[@christinecamley]

@@topshelfwhisky It really is! Thanks for your thoughtful reply! 🙂

[@chadadams1127]

I can’t find them for under $500 here in the states:( I absolutely love Longrow but can’t pull the trigger at these prices...Great review Gents!

[@topshelfwhisky]

Dustin pick up both the 2019 and 2020 but we’ll under that price. I wouldn’t say it’s a $500 bottle but that’s just me.

[@foodquig]

Acquiring any Longrow here proves to be difficult at best... In a way that's alright because bottles like the ones you are trying are beyond what I can afford.

[@topshelfwhisky]

Hard for me too, Quig. Dustin is the Springbank ninja. If it’s available somewhere for more then 30 seconds... Dustin will make it happen.

[@peterwhite507]

Nice review guys. Love Longrow, but 18 is the oldest I've had. The 17 year single cask Chardonnay finish is the best Longrow I have had to this point.

[@peterwhite507]

@dhsilv2 www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/132100/longrow-17-year-old Some of the members listed with multiple bottles may be known to you and probably in a trading frame of mind, given the horrible selection in Ontario these days.

[@topshelfwhisky]

Thanks Peter , the 18 was a nice dram but I’ve never tried the 17 year. I have to get Dustin on that. 😉

[@michaelmanganiello8209]

@dhsilv2 I have an unopened bottle of the 17 Chardonnay that I may be willing to trade. Let me know if you're interested.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Good details I was just looking on a website and wondering :-)

[@topshelfwhisky]

what are you seeing them for?

[@WhiskyMystery]

@@topshelfwhisky US CA K&L $500 + Tax. Europe 295 EUR (Must Have Malts)

[@WhiskyMystery]

@dhsilv2 Got it thanks.

[@DarkSalmonz]

Very nice! These just popped up at vine and table in Indy....for $500. I thought about it, but that's just too steep.

[@TheGschwartz86]

I can get this for 450 B4 tax. If you don't think this one is worth that, can you suggest a standard (or at least available) bottling(s) you would recommend for that price-range pls (other than SB 21's)? Great job as always fellas! :)

[@topshelfdustin3060]

What attracted you to this bottle? Mike and I have a top 5 bottles under 500 review which would cover a few of those...all be it prices are getting challenging on some for us in the states. But glengoyne 25 and laphroiag 25 remain my two favorites all be it you gotta shop these days for the laphoriags under 650 with recent price hikes :/

[@TheGschwartz86]

@@topshelfdustin3060 Funny you mention that Dustin...I found and watched that video a few hours after this post. Great list! Unfortunately, I am unable to acquire 3 of the top 4 locally (I might be able to get one of the newer Balvenie 1509s, but reviews seem mixed on the newer batches)...and I already have the 17', 19', and 20' SB 21 :) What attracted me to this bottle is that I love Springbank and have enjoyed every bottling of Longrow that I have tasted so far. This includes the Longrow 18 (2015) and a few of the Reds....I also have the 11 yr Sauternes Single Cask which you reviewed, but havent cracked it yet. Weirdly, I can only find the 2015 bottling of Longrow 18 locally and the 2020 bottling of the 21 year. Since its $500ish after tax, I am on the fence of whether or not to pull the trigger. Old Puteney 25 is available here though. Thanks for your response, thoughtful info and awesome video reviews!!! :)

[@topshelfdustin3060]

@@TheGschwartz86 I have two springbank 18 2014's that I bought not that long ago. The market with springbank stuff is weird. I've had to come to terms with ordering online from the UK has just a part of this game. It's the only way to get value especially these higher end bottles. Anyway I just poured a drop of 18 and 21 longrows to compare. The 21 is a bit more dirty and likely polarizing. It's better but the gap here just isn't that dramatic.

[@TheGschwartz86]

@@topshelfdustin3060 thank you so much for pouring them to provide this info! Really good to know! Yea, there are mostly 2017 SB 21's over here LOL. I would love to order from UK, but most if those sites dont ship to the state if Georgia. It honestly seems like all the sites with bottles I want especially LOL. But ill keep looking just in case. Thanks for the advice and your time. Very very nice of you. Looking forward to continue following your youtube whisky career :)

[@topshelfdustin3060]

@@TheGschwartz86 whiskyworld ;) they'll ship to you. Whisky exchange likely too. Hmm, so georgia has sb21 2017 on the shelves? Hmm

[@gavsdrams]

Cadenheads have a 25-year-old longrow

[@MrPsiman]

Why no review on Fiji water ? it was out there front and center

[@boingmaster]

I've seen a couple of LR 21 on the shelf in the US at $500. Actually pricier than the SB 21...

[@topshelfwhisky]

The Longrow is a rarer bottle. Quite a different profile.

[@jasoncoates1835]

You mean Fruit Stripe Gum, I assume... =)

[@topshelfwhisky]

I need to start a gum review channel.

[@jasoncoates1835]

@dhsilv2 The hero you never asked for.

[@ameliaday3630]

I can’t say all the things I wanna say.

[@topshelfwhisky]

🍑🔨