Linkwood 16 Year (39.235 "Got Off on the Right Foot")

 

Linkwood is a distillery whose marquee is little known to most of the public - being another quasi-anonymous Diageo holding, whose output mostly goes to the various Johnnie Walker blends (as far as I can tell). But to single malt fanatics, it's pretty well known for having a high-quality spirit when you run across independently bottled versions of it. This 16 year from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") is one of those.

Here are the official notes:

The aroma of freshly prepared apple and sultana porridge with plenty of Demerara sugar and nutmeg got us all off on the right foot. This was followed by croissants with bramble and elderflower jam, marmalade on toast and a cup of hibiscus tea flavoured with vanilla. After pouring a little water the tea became more of a lime herbal infusion, a refreshing concoction which we enjoyed as we sat on a sun-warmed oak bench during a forest walk and shared a sweet mango chutney and cheese naan toastie. Following eleven years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 2nd fill toasted oak hogshead.

Well, count me in: apple, malt, sugar, spice - a solid start, sure - but what I'm mostly intrigued me is "lime herbal infusion [tea]" and the combination of "sweet mango chutney" with "[toasted] cheese naan" - what in the world!?

Bottled at 58.3% ABV, let's explore:

Nose: On the neck pour: lots of apples here - yellow apples, green apples, some mushy red ones. Applesauce, even. Maybe some pear, too. Baking spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice. Some alcohol fumes. Some sugar. So far, the official notes are right on the money. 

Deeper into the bottle, it gets brighter and more tropical fruit-forward, there's a bit less overt apple and pastry/malt. 

With water: A curious scent of "clay/wet ceramics" comes out - I didn't expect that. Citric sugar - like sour patch kids, kind of. Quite nice with water. After quite a bit of time in the glass, some floral elements emerge. 

Mouthfeel: Like olive oil. 

Palate: Surprising amount of alcohol at first - quite hot. Then: pastry and bread, tropical overtones, baked apple, and definitely some weak tea. I often get a "white gummi bear" note from Linkwood, and I find it here a little bit, on the back end. At the end of the development, there is a drying effect: some oak, dessicated honey, spice cabinet. A very typical middle-aged Speyside, but a good one. 

With water: Honey in black tea, spiced apple cider, but no cheese. Stronger oak presence than before, very faintly smoky. The nose is a bit more interesting than the palate here. 

Finish: Nice - oaky, hints of char, apple, lots of drying baking spices. 

Verdict: This is a very solid middle-aged Speyside single cask whisky. This Linkwood won't blow the doors off the barn and escape into the night like a wild colt, but it will satisfy on a long summer evening, sip by sip.