Four more years. That is the difference between the Longmorn 18 and the Longmorn 22, and the question the whisky world asked when both expressions launched together in 2024 was simple: does an additional four years in American oak at a distillery whose 18-year already received 94 points from Whisky Advocate justify a significantly higher price point and a meaningfully different drinking experience?

The answer, according to Whisky Advocate, is an unambiguous yes — 96 Points for the 22 Year Old, two points higher than the already-celebrated 18-year, and one of the highest scores awarded to any Speyside single malt in the 2024 release calendar. The additional four years in American oak barrels and hogsheads have done what time alone can do when the base spirit is of genuine quality: deepened the integration, concentrated the wood's contribution, pushed the profile from the 18's exuberantly fruity and honeyed character into something drier, more contemplative, and more specifically complex — aromatic oak and nutty cocoa taking the lead, dark chocolate and espresso notes emerging where the 18 showed toffee and tropical fruit.

Longmorn was founded in 1893 in Moray, at the heart of Speyside, and has spent the greater part of its existence as an invisible contributor to some of the most widely consumed blended Scotch in the world — Chivas Regal above all. Masataka Taketsuru, the Japanese chemist who founded Nikka Whisky, worked briefly at Longmorn in 1920 and was so impressed by its stills that he modeled his own distilleries after them; the Japanese whisky he subsequently created is now among the most collected in the world. The distillery itself has spent the intervening century largely uncelebrated — until now. Four additional years in the warehouse have produced the most serious and the most specifically age-developed expression Longmorn has officially released for the American market: darker, oakier, more structured, and — in Whisky Advocate's assessment — among the finest Speyside single malts currently available at any age.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Longmorn Distillery was established in 1893 by John Duff in the parish of Longmorn, Moray — a site in the geographic heart of Scotland's most productive Speyside whisky-making zone. Owned today by Pernod Ricard through Chivas Brothers, the distillery has produced malt whisky primarily for blending purposes for most of its 130-year history, with Longmorn distillate serving as one of the most critical and the most consistently relied-upon components in Chivas Regal blends across generations of blenders.

The 22 Year Old is the elder of the two expressions Chivas Brothers launched for the US market in early 2024 — an annual, single-batch bottling drawn from American oak barrels and hogsheads that have held Longmorn spirit for the full 22 years, selected by the blending team for their specific depth and character. Like the 18-year, the 22-year is bottled without chill filtration, without added color, and at natural cask strength — in this batch, 54.5% ABV / 109 proof, slightly lower than the 18-year's 57.6%, reflecting the additional years of maturation and the gradual reduction in proof that extended aging in Scotland's cool climate naturally produces. The four additional years in oak, beyond the already impressive 18-year maturation, produce the deeper wood integration, the darker secondary flavors, and the more specifically structured and contemplative palate character that distinguish the 22 from its sibling expression.

Critics Reviews

Whisky Advocate — 96 Points:
"Hazelnut praline, toffee, dried apricot, and orange rind are laced with wisps of pipe tobacco, vanilla, and toasted coconut. Medium-bodied with wonderful creaminess and texture. Notes of milk chocolate, pear, cinnamon, vanilla, and mango carry gently through a layered and complex midpalate. A long and beautifully spiced finish features toasted oak and dried fruit with a touch of butterscotch."

Drinkhacker — B+ Rating:
"Oakier, spicier, and less aromatic than the 18 year old, this single malt takes its time to open up in the glass. Cinnamon, allspice, and ginger float from the tip of the tongue and then back, with papaya and pineapple developing shortly after on the midpalate. Burnt citrus and more coffee/espresso elements at the very tail end."

Paste Magazine (confirmed):
"Drier notes of aromatic oak and nutty cocoa. The 22-year presents with aromatic oak taking the lead over the 18's more fruit-forward profile."

Longmorn official tasting notes:
"Hazelnut praline and luscious toffee, with delicate citrus and poached pears. Notes of dried fruit and toasted oak with a touch of sweet butterscotch on the finish."

Distillery official (22-year specific characterization):
"Rich and creamy, with dried stone fruits and toasted oak building through the midpalate. The additional years of aging have concentrated the oak's contribution while deepening the integration of fruit and wood."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Deep amber with a warm mahogany glow — the four additional years in American oak producing a color notably deeper and richer than the 18-year. Hazelnut praline and toffee open the nose with warmth and nutty richness. Dried apricot and orange rind add concentrated, slightly oxidative fruit depth that replaces the 18-year's fresher tropical character with something more specifically aged and contemplative. Wisps of pipe tobacco add the most sophisticated and the most specifically complex secondary aromatic — the wood's most advanced contribution after 22 years. Vanilla and toasted coconut add the American oak's classic sweetness. The overall nose is drier, more aromatic, and less immediately exuberant than the 18-year — a profile that takes more time to open in the glass but rewards the patience with greater nuance.

Palate
Medium-bodied with wonderful creaminess and texture — the Whisky Advocate's most specifically noted palate quality, a creaminess that the additional oak time and the slightly lower proof together produce in a more integrated and specifically silky form than the 18-year's bolder, more punch-forward palate. Milk chocolate and pear carry the most elegant and the most dessert-adjacent primary flavors. Cinnamon, vanilla, and mango build through a layered and complex midpalate. Papaya and pineapple develop in the mid-palate alongside cinnamon, allspice, and ginger. Burnt citrus and espresso emerge toward the back palate — the darkest, most oak-derived, and the most specifically age-developed secondary flavors, appearing where the 18-year showed tropical fruit.

Finish
Long and beautifully spiced — the most specifically compelling and the most definitively age-worthy quality of the 22-year, the finish carrying toasted oak and dried fruit with a touch of butterscotch in a close of genuine length and structural elegance. Coffee and espresso linger alongside the dried apricot and orange rind. The cinnamon spice carries the longest and the most persistently, confirming the four additional years of oak contact's most direct and the most measurable contribution to the spirit's character.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Dark chocolate truffles — the milk chocolate, espresso, and toasted oak finding their most natural culinary pairing
• Crème brûlée and caramel desserts — the butterscotch and toffee aligned
• Aged hard cheeses — Comté, aged gouda, Manchego
• Dried fruit and nut boards — the dried apricot and hazelnut praline character mirrored
• Digestif on its own — the contemplative profile most rewarding in stillness