[WHISKY TASTING] The Rare Treat of a 26 Year Old Whisky 💧

The Linkwood Distillery was founded in 1821 by Peter Brown at the River Lossie near the lovely town of Elgin in Scotland. The original boiler house and kiln is still there. When the distillery was rebuilt in 1873 by his son William Brown, additional buildings were added. A lot of effort is put into maintaining the character of the original whisky from 1821. They even go so far that when new stills are ordered, they must be exactly like the old - with dents and all.

Most of the production goes to the blending industry, and Linkwood is actually one of the main whisky's in Johnnie Walker. The blenders like the smooth distillery character of a floral and grassy nose, and challenging, buttery and complex palate.

The distillery was renovated twice in the 20th century, in 1962 and 1971. During the latter expansion the production capacity was increased from two to six stills. Today Linkwood is owned by the huge company Diageo. The crystal clear water used to make Linkwood is drawn from underground springs at Millbuies Loch. It's just a few percents that are released as single malt, but there are fortunately several independent bottlers that buy casks from Linkwood and release a limited quantity of final bottles.

The bottle I have in front of me tonight is however not from an independent bottler, but from a series called Special Releases, released by Diago themselves. In 2008 they released 3 different Linkwood bottles with three different wood finishes - Red wine, Rhum and Port - all of them cask strength and all of them aged for 26 years in total (12 years in American ex-bourbon casks and 14 years in their respective wood casks). It's a quite exclusive whisky, 26 years is a respectable age for a whisky, and only 1260 bottles were released back in 2008. I was lucky to place a winning bid on Ebay just recently and get a bottle of the Port finish variant for much less than what it's worth. Normally you have to pay somewhere between 200-300 dollars for a 500 ml bottle. And what an elegant and slender bottle it is! I just hope that the content is as pleasing.

Linkwood 26 year old – Port Finish

Age: 26yo (1981-2008)
ABV: 56.9%
Region: Speyside
Bottle no. 1216 of 1260

Appearance: Copper-red.

Nose: The fragrance opens with prunes and eggnog. It's fairly heavy and vinous on the nose, yet buttery with honey and heather, and some floral notes of the rose kind come forth with a few drops of water. Citrus is also there along with oak notes and raisins.

Palate: I feel clear hints of dried and tart fruit. It's smooth and honey-like with plenty of earthy tones, cocoa, cloves, anise and rose oil. Later on comes the barrel character together with cereals and fresh and minty vanilla. It's very sweet and luscious with a lovely buttery body. The more water you add, the more tart and perfume-ish it becomes.

Finish: Peppery, warm and medium-long fruity aftertaste with a sweetness that lingers with hints of chocolate, ginger and oak.

Conclusion: The balance between sweetness, wood, spices and cereal is quite superb and would make this a good choice for a Christmas malt. If you have a limited budget though, stay with the beautiful Aberlour A'bunad. The verdict? 91 points.

— SteemSwede