Scotland, Speyside. Distillery operational. Owner: Chivas Brothers, Pernod Ricard

A blender's malt par excellence, Longmorn is considered a “Top Malt” in the Scotch whisky industry. This title, shared by just a dozen of the hundreds of distilleries spread across the Highlands including Macallan, enabled it to survive the difficulties of the 20th century in the shadow of Chivas Regal. For a long time limited to just two expressions, Longmorn 10 Year Old and Longmorn 15 Year Old, it would not be until the 21st century (2004) that its owners recognized its right to exist on the international scene as a single malt and equipped it with its own special bottlings. In the meantime, independent bottlers took to the malt. Making sherry-cask maturation its trademark, Gordon & MacPhail gave it an identity revered by and renowned amongst enthusiasts and collectors.

A 13 year old Longmorn small batch (#800627-800628) distilled in 2002 and bottled in 2016 by Signatory Vintage. Signatory Vintage was founded in 1988 by Andrew Symington, who previously worked at Prestonfield House, Edinburgh, where he would select casks specially for the hotel. In 2002, he bought the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry, in the Highlands of Scotland and moved Signatory Vintage vintage to the site, including the warehouses opposite the distillery. A limited edition of 494 bottles for La Maison du Whisky, a whisky and spirits importer and distributor founded by Georges Bénitah in 1956.