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.

Highland Park 16 Year (SMWS 4.304 "A Proper Summer Dram")

 

The final sample provided at the March 2023 outturn tasting of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") was easily the favorite of basically everyone in the room: a 16 year Highland Park, finished in a PX cask that had been shaved, toasted, and recharred (!). A very curious choice, since you'd expect the PX influence to be literally scraped and burned away by the STR process. That said, the result was incredible, as we'll see in a bit.

Varela Hermanos 16 Year Rum (SMWS R9.11 "Zipwire")

 

I can't say I've ever had any Panamanian rum before this 16 year bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). But their single cask rums have been uniformly excellent, so I immediately took a chance. Spoiler alert: I was well rewarded, this is fantastic. 

Bunnahabhain 16 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask)

 

Here we go again - I found another excellent deal on a Blackadder Raw Cask and - as always - simply could not say no. I should have said no, this exhausts my budget for the rest of the month for whisky or anything else, but ... a 16 year peated Bunnahabhain, with giant flakes of cask floating in the bottle? Another Dram Hunter selection from Raj Sabharwal?? Sign me up, I'll go for broke. 

Laphroaig 16 Year

This is a REAL pleasure. My first Laphroaig in a while, and it's a nicely aged one - the same age as Lagavulin, the magisterial standard for all Islay. Can Laphroaig 16 measure up to that lofty standard? Aged in ex-bourbon barrels, and bottled at a nice 48% ABV. 

Longmorn 16 Year

This is one from the archives - I actually drafted this review back in 2014, when a friend gave me the final few drams of his bottle of Longmorn 16 - it was the first bottle he purchased for more than $100. My notes languished in my email until I decided to clean out my inbox this weekend. 

Longmorn is a Speyside distillery, located near Benriach (founded by the same man, John Duff) and Linkwood and Glen Elgin, and under the current Pernod Ricard ownership it has attempted to position itself as an ultra-premium product.

Lagavulin 16 (Second Take)

While re-reading some of my old reviews, the one that struck me the most as needing revising was Lagavulin's 16-year core expression. My initial review finds a lot of sweetness, even a lemon citrus element... well, I've had a LOT of Lagavulin in the intervening years, and since then I don't remember much of a lemon scent, or really much sweetness at all. So I thought I would give this one a new look, much as I recently took a second glance at Talisker Storm. 

Lagavulin 16 Year

Ah, finally I get to Lagavulin. Considered by many to be THE Islay Scotch, it's the favorite single malt of many a refined drinker. I first had this delicious beauty at a birthday party in a small apartment on Capital Hill, drinking with a pilot who generously shared his bottle. I was instantly enamored. It's dangerously easy to drink and bottles tend to empty themselves all too quickly.

The Glenlivet Nadurra (16 Year)

THE Glenlivet. Why do distilleries insist on the "The"? THE Macallan! THE Balvenie! THE Dalmore!

For the rest of the review, I'm chopping the name down to Glenlivet, try to humble the bottle a little.  Because this is a bottle with big things going on.