Linkwood 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Highland/Speyside

Brand: Linkwood Sherry Wood (2000-2012)

Selected by and Bottled for Wilson & Morgan, Edinburgh

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS (But in fact 12 Years)

ABV: 48 %

Date: 09/02/2013

Colour: Golden

Nose: Strong Nose as could be expected at 48%. This dram needs opening up so give it sufficient time. First impressions are Straw, Oloroso Sherry, Cooked Potatoes/Vegetables (Sulphur perhaps), Malt and Toast with Dairy Butter. After a while I get Honey, Oak, Vanilla, Pear and light Floral Tones. Later still, Red Fruit and Red Wine. It gets Sweeter as well after 40 minutes or so. Pretty mature Nose for a 12 year old whisky. The flavours come in layers rather than presenting themselves as a balanced ensemble right from the start. It's not a Nose that gives you immediate - and attractive flavours. You have to dig deep and use every angle to find what you're looking for. 

Palate: Strong and creamy delivery with Oloroso Sherry, Red Fruit (Tea), Oak, Caramel, Pepper, Ginger, Licorice and some Dried Fruits. There is a light Alcohol bite of course but this Linkwood is definitively smooth despite its high ABV.

Finish: Quite Long with Spices like Pepper, Nutmeg and Ginger, Red Wine, Licorice, Oak and Vanilla. Sweet at first but dryer towards the end.

I added a couple of drops of water and you get rid of the Alcohol and Potatoes on the Nose. Instead you get lots of Butter, Malt and Honey. Some extra Red Wine and Fruit on the Palate. You can certainly experiment with a small teaspoon of water here.  

Rating: 85.5 (out of 100)

Nose: 21 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 21.5 

General Remarks: The Wilson & Morgan Company is an Independent Bottler, based in Italy. Owners are the Rossi family that started importing Blends in the sixties. Single Malt Selection was added in the 1980's and in 1992 Wilson & Morgan was founded by Fabio Rossi to attend the high end Single Malt market. At various distilleries, W&M selects barrels for their Barrel Selection series. Most of the casks mature at the distillery itself. The Linkwood I'm tasting today was distilled in 2000 and bottled in 2012. It matured in Sherry Butt # 2 of a limited Barrel selection and is Non Chill-Filtered. It sells at around 60 US Dollars. The Linkwood Distillery was founded around 1820, is located close to Elgin and is now part of the Diageo Group. Most of the production goes into blends like White Horse, Haig, Bells and Dimple.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: If you like sherried Speysiders, this Linkwood is an excellent alternative. Very creamy, enjoyable Palate and good Finish. The Nose opens up real slow and you need a lot of Patience there. Otherwise you might easily dismiss it as uninteresting and even a bit sour. But all in all a good performance from Wilson & Morgan/Linkwood.

Jan van den Ende                                                                  February 2013