There are bottles you drink, and there are bottles you sit with. The Longrow 1987 from Samaroli's Dreams series is emphatically the latter — a Campbeltown single malt distilled in 1987, selected and bottled by one of the most discerning independent houses the whisky world has ever known. At £4,500, this is not a casual purchase. It is a statement of intent from a collector who understands what Campbeltown spirit from this era represents, and what the Samaroli name on a label has come to mean.
Longrow has always occupied a particular corner of the single malt landscape — the heavily peated expression produced at Springbank in Campbeltown, double-distilled in the traditional manner. A 1987 vintage places this firmly in an era when Campbeltown was still considered something of a whisky backwater by mainstream drinkers, long before the region's current renaissance. That obscurity, paradoxically, is part of what makes surviving casks from this period so sought after. The whisky world wasn't paying the kind of attention it does now, and distillers were simply making spirit the way they always had.
Silvano Samaroli, the Italian bottler whose name graces this release, built his reputation on an almost obsessive selectivity. His Dreams series in particular was reserved for casks he considered exceptional — spirit that told a story worth preserving. When a Samaroli Dreams bottling surfaces at auction or on a specialist shelf, it commands attention not because of marketing, but because of decades of earned trust. I have encountered enough Samaroli selections over the years to know that the house standard was remarkably consistent.
At 45% ABV, this sits at a strength that suggests careful consideration rather than cask-strength bravado. It is bottled to be approachable while retaining the structural integrity of the spirit — a hallmark of the Samaroli philosophy, which always prioritised balance and drinkability over sheer power.
Tasting Notes
I won't fabricate specifics I cannot verify from a single encounter, but what I will say is this: Campbeltown malts from the late 1980s, particularly peated expressions like Longrow, tend toward a maritime complexity — brine, smoke, and an oily richness that distinguishes them from both Highland and Islay counterparts. With decades of maturation implied by a 1987 distillation, you should expect the peat to have softened considerably, yielding to deeper, more integrated flavours. This is a whisky that rewards patience and attention.
The Verdict
I'm giving this an 8.1 out of 10 — a score that reflects both the quality of what Samaroli consistently delivered and the sheer rarity of well-preserved Campbeltown spirit from this vintage. The price is significant, and I won't pretend otherwise. But for the collector or serious enthusiast who understands what they're holding, this bottle represents a convergence of provenance, region, and era that is genuinely difficult to replicate. Campbeltown in 1987, selected by Samaroli, presented under the Dreams banner — each of those elements carries weight individually. Together, they make a compelling case.
Best Served
Neat, in a tulip glass, with no rush whatsoever. If you've spent £4,500 on a bottle, you owe it to yourself to let it open gradually over twenty minutes before adding so much as a drop of water. If after that time you feel it needs a few drops to unlock further, by all means — but start without. This is a whisky that has had decades to find its composure. Give it the courtesy of your full attention.
