Showing posts with label 19 Years. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 19 Years. Show all posts

Linkwood 1997 (Brachadair)


“Raspberry Beret” 


Whisky Review # 1039

Country: Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Region: Speyside
Brand: Linkwood 1997
Bottled By: Brachadair, Belgium in October 2016 - 120 Bottles - Cask # 10646
Type: Single Malt Single Cask Scotch Whisky
Age: 19 Years
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 52.6% (Cask Strength)
Maturation: Ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Chill Filtration: No 
Price Average: US$ 140 (Oktober 2024)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👍 Good
Buying Advice: 👍 Very Fruity Bourbon-Matured Speyside Malt

Color:

Pale White Wine/Straw (Natural Colour)

Nose:

Please give this Linkwood some time in the glass before nosing and avoid to nose in the middle of your glass. The Nose is quite Fruity and not very Oaky leading me to the conclusion that Cask # 10646 was not a very active one. Besides Fruit you will also find quite a few Malty, Yeasty and Grassy notes. The Alcohol is noticeable.

Main Aromas:

Sweet Malted Barley, Buttered Toast, Vanilla, Yeast, Grass and Straw, Banana Ice-Cream, Green Apple, Pear, Strawberry-Flavored Yogurt, Fruit Flavored Candies like Peach, Lemon, Melon and Pineapple, Cinnamon and Ginger.   

Supportive Aroma Accents:

Heather-Honey, Bread, Dough, Caramel, Sugared Almonds, Nougat, Marzipan, Dusty Oak, Earth, Fresh Herbs, Orange, Raspberry, Mint and light Licorice.    


Palate:

Oily, Waxy, quite Fruity and Bitter-Sweet-Sour. The Alcohol remains noticeable but other than that it's quite agreeable.

Main Flavours:

Sweet Toasted Barley, Wax, Vanilla, Sugared Almonds,  Grass & Straw, Strawberry and Raspberry flavored Yogurt, Fruit Flavored Candies (Lemon, Melon, Pineapple, Green Apple, Orange), Cinnamon, Pepper and Nutmeg.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Heather-Honey, Caramel, Papaya Cream, Bounty Bars, Butter, Floral Soap, Dusty Oak, Ginger, Cloves, Menthol, Aniseed, Cardamom and Licorice.   


Finish:

Middle-Long, Bitter-Sweet and quite Fruity. Some Sour notes as well. The Alcohol bites a little bit towards the Medium Dry end. I find Sweet Toasted Barley, Vanilla, Heather-Honey, Grass & Straw, Wax, Fruit-Flavored Candies (Melon, Green Apple, Lemon & Orange), Limoncello, Strawberry-flavored Yogurt,  Floral Soap, Grapefruit Juice, Raspberry, Dusty Oak, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Menthol, Aniseed and Licorice.  

Drinking Advice:

Added Water does not improve this Linkwood although it diminishes the Heat of course. I prefer it neat though.

Rating: 7.5 (*******1/2) 

Nose: 7.5 - Taste: 7.5 - Finish: 7.5 

*** Important Note with respect to Rating.

If the Final score is  8 or higher you can safely buy the whisky in question if and when it fits your Aroma/Flavor profile. If the score is between 6 and 8 you might want to try it out in the form of a sample or if offered at a good price. Anything below 6 should be left alone when you are looking for a nice sipping whisky. You might still like it of course & I realize pricing is an important item for many whisky fans especially when you are used to enjoy whisky in a cocktail or a mixed drink.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good
 
Conclusion:

The Linkwood distillery is located in Elgin & was founded in 1821 by Peter Brown. Their Spirit has always been an important part of many Blended Whiskies. The only official core bottling is the 12 Year old Flora and Fauna. There are many independent bottlings around like the one I am reviewing today. The average production amounts to around 4 million litres per year. Linkwood is owned by the Diageo Group.

I can understand that the Fruity distillery-character attracts the makers of Blends like Bell's, Haig and White Horse. It's a pity though that almost all of the Linkwood production is destined for these Blends. In my opinion it's authentic enough to be able to shine as a Single Malt as well, especially when paired to first class Ex-Bourbon casks. Because I do feel that the cask used for this Brachadair expression could have been a bit more active. Nevertheless I will certainly be on the look-out for other independent Linkwood Malts.

Cheers 🥃

Jan van den Ende                                                                   Oktober 31, 2024

BenRiach 1991 Review


Country: Scotland 
Region: Highland - Speyside
Brand: BenRiach 1991 (Mo Or Collection)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age:  19 Years
ABV:  46 %

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Quite Floral, Mineral, Herbal, Earthy and Grassy with hints of Heather and cooked Endive. I also find Malt, Butter, Vanilla, Oak, Sugared Pear Drops, light Spices, Honey, Apple Vinegar and a pinch of Salt. The Alcohol is very nicely incorporated. Still, it's not quite what I had expected from a BenRiach given the fact that the 16 Year OB is one of my favourites so far on the Journey. This 1991 is not bad but just a little bit disappointing. Do give it some time (30-40 minutes) to open up.  

Palate: Creamy and slightly Bitter-Sweet delivery with Grapefruit, Honey, Oak, Heather, Vanilla, Spices, Licorice, Mint, Toffee, Malt and Wax.

Finish: Quite Sweet and Creamy with Buttered Toast and Honey, light Spices, Fresh Cut Grass, Mint and Heather.

With a little bit of Water, the Nose gets more Malt, Buttered Toast and Honey and loses some of the Grassy and Herbal notes. On the Palate and in the Finish you get more Wood, Licorice and Spices (Pepper). As usual I prefer it neat but you can certainly experiment with a couple of drops of Water at the time. 

Rating: 84.5

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


General Remarks:  The BenRiach distillery is located in the heart of the Speyside between Elgin and Rothes. It was founded in 1898 by John Duff, the owner of the nearby Longmorn distillery. The BenRiach 1991 from The Whisky Talker/Mo Or (Gaelic for My Gold) that we're tasting today was distilled on the 24th of September, 1991 and bottled on the 9th of March, 2011. The whisky matured in a Bourbon Hogshead (Cask # 110681). A total of 300 bottles was reserved for the Mo Or Collection. It's priced at around 125 US Dollars per 50 Cl bottle. The Whisky Talker is an Independent Bottler from the Netherlands. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A well-crafted and interesting whisky but very difficult to recognise as a BenRiach. It's unusually Floral and Herbal and the Honey is all over the place. I could do without the Wax and the Grapefruit on the Palate as they seem out of place somewhat as is the Apple Vinegar on the Nose. But those are minor points really. Certainly a whisky you could look for if the above flavour and aroma profile fits you. However, I think I'll stick to the BenRiach 16 as long as my bottle lasts!

Jan van den Ende                                                           September 11, 2013