Scotland, Speyside: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Linkwood

Description of the whisky

The distillery

Linkwood distillerie
Linkwood Distillery
Elgin
Morayshire
IV30 3RD
+44 1343 553 800
Owner: United Distillers & Vintners (Diageo)
Creation date1821

photos

According to old excise document, Peter Brown began distilling whisky at Linkwood in 1824. After his death, his son, William Brown ran the distillery for another 30 years, and gave the distillery a solid reputation.
Linkwood is tooled up since the very beginning with large capacity stills.
Completely refurbished in 1872, it entered in the Stock Exchange quotation in 1898, when the family Brown created the Linkwood-Glenlivet company.
Innes Cameron managed the distillery from 1902 up to his death in 1932. The distillery has been taken over in 1936 by the D.C.L. (Distillers Company Ltd.), and refurbished again in 1962. Like many other distilleries, it was closed during World War II.
When it opened again, it was ran by Roderick Mackenzie for 18 years. Mackenzie was very afraid that the quality of the whisky could be altered by any change in the distillery, so he decided nothing could be altered at Linkwood, even the spin webs must stay in place.
Enlarged in1971, Linkwood tripled its production capacity. Despite all those alterations, the Linkwood distillery has always kept its traditional character.
The distillery was closed from 1985 up to 1990.
Only 1 or 2% of the production is marketed as single malt, the remaining being used in the blends of the UDV group, White Horse, Haig, Bells and Dimple amongst others..

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Description of the distillery

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 Linkwood: official bottlings
 

Linkwood
12 years
Fauna & Flora
Age
 12 years
Alcohol
 43%
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 
I bought this bottle  following the advice of a shop assistant in the Gordon & MacPhail grocery in Elgin, and I really never regretted it. The indicated price is the price in Scotland, so I imagine it is rather easy to find it cheaper abroad. It is a very good whisky, well balanced, from the Northern part of the Speyside area, just near Elgin. Very pleasant to drink, it is a bottle I recommend to each whisky lover.

A second tasting revealed a rather discrete nose, with some ripe fruits (peer) hints and a light malt touch. The taste is relatively discrete too. No aggression. A taste of (too) ripe fruit, slightly malted. A pleasant finish, accentuating the malt rather than the fruit. A very good bottle, but with a certain lack at complexity and surprise.

The pleasnt nose is rather fruity with slightly acid hints which give it a kind of freshness behind its malty notes. In the mouth, the malt dominates with some notes of citrus fruit mixed with honey drop. A quite pleasant finish, with some honeyish but still discrete touches.

The nose is pleasantly fruity and reveals some spicy fragrances. Citrus fruit and hits of smoke. Orange skin. In the palate, a nice mix of malty and fruity notes with some hints of sweet citrus fruit (ripe orange). A touch of nut on the background. The finish is quite long, first smooth and marked by nutty bitterness, and develops rather quick on alcohol whiffs before getting smoother again after a while. Nice bottle, without being an exceptional one...
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 Linkwood
Rare Malts
26 y.o.
1975-2002
Age
 26 years
Alcohol
 56.1%
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Linkwod 26 ans rare malts
A superb nose, rather complex marked by spices The attack in the mouth is first dry and bitter before developing on citrus notes and then malty and woody hints. Alcohol is quite present in the mouth. The finish is long and surprisingly smooth and contrasts with the impression in the palate.
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 Linkwood
Rare Malts
30 y.o.
1974-2004
Age
 30 years
Alcohol
 54.9%
Bottler
 Official
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Linkwood 30 Rare Malts
A very impressive nose marked by hints of refined wood and nuts. Touches of fruit (plum) and spices (clove). Nice complexity. The first impression in the palate is a kind of bitter dryness (fine wood, nut) developing quickly on very beautiful acid notes to finish on a fruity and waxy palette. Remarkable evolution in the mouth. A real firework, a very bright tastes palette. The finish is warm and very long, and all the refinements of the mouths are present for long minutes.
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 Linkwood: independent bottlings
 

Linkwood
1987
Decanter Collection
Age
 15 years
Alcohol
 43%
Bottler
 Signatory
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 The colour is old gold with amber glints. The nose reveals intense coconut hints and develops on malted barley and ripe fruits.
The palate recognizes the fineness of Linkwood, with ripe apple hints.
The long finish is marked by toffee, citrus fruit (lemon) and malted barley.

(la Maison du Whisky)

The first nosing gives immediately the pitch. A rich malt, complex with honey hints and some slightly acid touches. The mouth confirms this first impression. Slight peppery and spicy hints achieve the whole. A long and pleasant finish prolongs a real pleasure. Excellent bottling in an excellent collection.

The second tasting just confirmed the first one.

The nose is relatively discrete but rich and complex. Some slight marine hints, a very discrete touch of peat on a background of peppery and spicy notes and a touch of citrus fruit. The palate is dry, first rather deceiving compared to the nose, but is is however quite complex. It is quite marked by alcohol too, with a nice woody sensation and some fruity hints (apple?) at the end. The finish is pleasantly complex, sweet at bitter at the time.

Nice first nose with pleasant floral and fruity hints. Quite nice fruits, somewhere between fruit macerated in sweet liqueur and not completely ripe fruit. Between acid freshness of green apple and the sweetish impression of pears on syrup. Freshness seems do dominate slightly.
The first contact in the mouth is quite deceiving. Where are the nice promises of the nose?  The only remaining is that impression of too sweet alcohol. Not so much character, no complexity. Quite a monotone taste, with a touch of walnut, drawn in the surrounding sugar. Cruel deception.
The finish is made from the same wood. Not very long nor very spectacular. A memory of sugar in the throat.
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Linkwood
1989
Old Malt Cask
Age
 13 years
Alcohol
 50%
Bottler
 Douglas Laing
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 
The nose is first discrete, but reveals soon all the complexity between citrus fruits and peppery hints of this exceptional whisky. The alcohol degree somewhere between cask strength and traditional is rather pleasant in the mouth. From slightly acid notes (citrus fruits) up to peppery and spicy hints. A very long finish, and the pleasure is complete. Another excellent bottle in another excellent collection. I really recommend this bottling.

The second tasting partially confirmed the first one. However the dominant character of the acidity seems to much marked, that's why this bottle got a lower rating.

During the third tasting, this acidity was still present in the palate, but probably that tastes develops. This slight acidity did not hinder me at all this time, and the quotation is the same as the first time again.

Citrus fruits (tangerine) and spices characterize the nose. The palate experiences a pleasant impression of pepper whit a slightly acid touch and a very light medicinal hint on the background. The finish is lingering and powerful.
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Linkwood
1989-2008
Adelphi
Age
 18 years
Alcohol
 55,6%
Botter
 Adelphi
=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros=25 euros< 25 euros
Adelphi Linkwood 18
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Linkwood: Samples

Linkwood
1982
Jean Boyer

Alcohol
 43%
Bottler
 Jean Boyer
The nose is first rather discrete, but after a while, it begins to reveal amazing but quite pleasant notes of marzipan and plasticine. In the palate, a malty sweetness contrasts with some slightly acid hints and a touch of bitterness. Just enough to keep this whisky from monotony, but not enough to make it a complex malt. The finish remains sweet, still on the malt and the whole is quite a pleasant apéritif.
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Linkwood 10 years
Cask Collection

Bottler
 Dewar Rattray
Cask(s)
 Bourbon
Alcohol
 57.7%
Linkwood 10 ans Dewar Rattray
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Speyside

Speyside Map

The Speyside area is situated at the North of the Cairngorm mountain and goes to the Moray firth. It is delimited by two rivers: the Findhorn at the West side and the Deveron on the East side.
The area is named after the river Spey. Most of the distilleries take their water in one of its affluents; the Fiddich, the Livet or the Avon.
About sixty distilleries from Speyside are described on this site.

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Click on the map for a list of the distilleries of the area, on the title for further information
about the Speyside area, and if you want to make an "alphabetical journey" through the area, please
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