Long, (good) Morn(ing).

Mornings. In my book, the perfect time to try whisky (Watch it, Amy Winehouse! - Ed). Surely someone, somewhere will create a breakfast malt soon enough!! In these times where major drinks companies are looking to mine each and every emerging market (look out Mars, here comes a manned NASA landing sponsored by Diageo, with their new blend "Johnnie Moon Walker"...), the last bastion of the British market must be breakfast. The only thing to really rival the mix of scotch bottles in my house, is the variety of tea bags my good lady keeps in the kitchen. The Twinings tea selection box resembles the Bruichladdich Distillery Shop for diversity and sheer creativity. So if a selection of different teas is as good for breakfast as it is before bed, then a selection of different drams must also fill that gap, surely...?!?

My current breakfast of choice is somewhat continental. Sure, at weekends I revert to type; some sort of nylon-football-shirt-wearing builder demanding the most dirty of fry-ups as I sit around watching Sky Sports News. But not during the week. Oh, no! My little living room in South London becomes some kind of Parisian outpost; coffee pots boiling away atop the stove, copies of broadsheet newspapers lie limp across the dining table, like solders wounded on the battle field. A crossword half finished, is mocking me with words I don't even know. But that aroma. Ahhhh... that wonderful aroma. Coffee, grapefruit, news print, fresh fruit, sugar, cinnamon from the top of a chelsea bun... if only this wonderful scent could be bottled....

Longmorn Glenlivet - 1971 / 2004 - G&M Bottling - 70cl - 40% Vol.

Nose: Wow. Chelsea buns or pain au raisin for you lot from outside of the UK! Think currants, sugar and cinnamon. Then come the classic polished wood you get with sherried whisky. A touch of grapefruit and a delicate waft of coffee. Wow.

Palate: Very easy going in the mouth. A slight tingle of white pepper balanced beautifully with gentle toffee.

Finish: Green, clear apple juice. A hint of jam... Raspberry jam. And then a hint of that bitterness you get with freshly squeezed blackcurrant juice. Just delicious.

Overall. The nose on this is perfect. Just perfect. The palate, although lacking slightly in the middle (more punch would have been nice) is just delicate and wonderful. And the finish... delicious. One of the best drams I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.