
January 12, 2018

Working on Linkwood, part deux

Because we’ve got more Linkwood to try…

Linkwood 21 yo 1995/2016 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask # 11357, 283 bottles)

Linkwood 21 yo 1995/2017 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask # 11599, 234 bottles)

We ended the latest session with a DL, we’ll start this one with another DL. Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one’s got more active vanilla, custard, crushed bananas, then rather acacia honey and a little butterscotch. Warm sawdust. With water: rather the same. Mouth (neat): really very good. A fruit salad covered with honey and corn syrup, plus vanilla. Bits of rhubarb, bananas, oranges… With water: once again, rather the same, although those oranges got more talkative, as often. Finish: medium, fruity, easy, fresh… Vanilla again in the aftertaste. Comments: it was a good refill hoggie, not dead at all.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

And while we are at it…

Linkwood 21 yo 1995/2016 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask # 11357, 283 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: rather more oils in this one, lamp oil, sunflower oil, also milk chocolate, then the expected oranges, light honey, cake… And of course, barley! With water: back to porridge-y notes… Mouth (neat): it’s a very fruity one again, with a large fruit salad full of preserved cherries, pieces of orange, perhaps kiwis, litchis… All this is very good, fresh, and pretty easy to quaff. With water: resurrects the barley in this! Finish: medium, rather more ‘doughy’ and porridgy, but otanges and lemons are back in the aftertaste. Comments: barley and fruits were playing hide and seek in this one. Good, of course.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Linkwood 1995/2015 ‘Summer Breeze’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 374 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: barley and pastries, then oranges and apples, then sunflower oil. Oh well, why not keep all this short and sweet? Wait, there are also notes of basil, and those keep growing. That’s unusual! Mouth: top notch. A little white pepper, apples, oranges, a wee bit of cinnamon mint, and indeed some barley, with a feeling of very malty beer. Tends to get dry. Finish: rather long, but less fruity than expected. Where have they gone? IPA, toasts, bread… Comments: super-good again, only the aftertaste was curiously dry and, well, drying.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

I’m sure Cadenhead will have something to add…

Linkwood-Glenlivet 24 yo 1992/2017 (50.9%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, hogsheads, 384 bottles)

Two casks have been used here. Colour: gold. Nose: more activity, more butterscotch, more roundness, more cakes, more praline, more custard, more preserved apricots, more Danishes… With water: leaves, oils, waxes, little herbs (basil, coriander)… Mouth (neat): I’m afraid they nailed it, and that’s the power of small batches vs. single casks. More complexity, more preserved fruits, syrups, honeys, quinces, bergamots, overripe apples, light fudge, brioche… My, this is good! With water: indeed. Rosehips and hawthorn teas. Finish: medium, rather more herbal. Green fruits (pears, kiwis, rhubarb…) A touch of coconut on the aftertaste. Oh and vanilla and honey. Comments: small batches, big whiskies. Provided those small batches are small indeed (I mean, not like 60,000 bottles, eh).
SGP:551 - 89 points.

Linkwood-Glenlivet 24 yo 1992/2017 (54.9%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 240 bottles)

So one that didn’t end up in that Small Batch… I suppose… Colour: pale gold. Nose: very, very same-ish, just a wee tad drier and perhaps more herbal. Say rather less emphatic… With water: perhaps a little more patchouli, lime tea, olive oil… Mouth (neat): even closer to the Small Batch, just a little less rounded, and a little more citrusy and tart. With water: very very good. Sweet herbs, green fruits. Perhaps hints of satay sauce? Finish: medium, rather drier. Some cinnamon, citrons, kiwis… Comments: all is well in the best of worlds.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

I think it’s time to put an end to this Linkwoody madness. Let’s see what we can find for the road… Perhaps something more seminal? Something that could reach WF 90? Like, an early Rare Malt? RU game?

Linkwood 22 yo 1972 (54.3%, OB, Rare Malts, +/-1995)

Saying that UDV/Diageo’s Rare Malts have been totally instrumental to many a whisky lover’s journey would be an understatement. These bottles are gold, and ‘they’ should do them again. All substance, no BS, no stories. Please, please! Now, not all of them have been perfect, some were rather pure rocket fuel, but that was part of their many charms. Let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: hell! Wait, 1972, a vintage that rings a bell… Wasn’t 1972 Scotch whisky’s 1959? Amazing sharpy yet honeyed arrival, rather more floral than all the others, with notes of roses (yeah!), apples, beeswax (yeah!), pastries, and simply blood oranges. Also love these discreet metallic touches… Old penny book? Grandma’s copper kettle? With water: pretty amazing earthy development, on autumn leaves, tobacco and paraffin. Dried rose petals – which is very Old Linkwood. Mouth (neat): punches you, with more copper, then apples, then roasted herbs (thyme?), then pepper… Indeed, it’s becoming very peppery. With water: there, we tamed it! Becomes magnificent, on honey, lemon, and beeswax. You can’t beat this. Finish: sadly, but lemons seized control. Comments: all those very first Rare Malts were very powerful, and this is no exception. Some kind of statement, I suppose. Like, distillate first? We. Need. Them. Back.
SGP:452 - 91 points.

Bye.

(Thanks a bunch, Morten!)