Although most of the production goes to Johnnie Walker and White Horse, independent single malt bottlings are fairly common as well. This 36 years old Linkwood 1973 was bottled for the 10th Anniversary of The Whisky Exchange in 2009.

Linkwood 36 yo 1973 (49,7%, The Whisky Exchange 10th Anniversary 2009, bourbon cask)

Nose: a delicious old Speysider, vibrant and utterly fruity. A vanilla infused fruit salad with ripe banana, some mango, dried apricots, papaya… Hints of good piña colada. A little polished oak. Pancakes (VIPS tortitas anyone?). Faint tobacco leafs and spices in the background. Really outstanding. Mouth: fruity again, some pineapple, orange and apricot but less abounding in vitality than on the nose. A more spicy kick with ginger, cinnamon and soft pepper. Oaky in a good way, giving it a lot of depth but not the dryness. Finish: long, growing more tannic and resinous now, although the fruitiness seems to go on and on.

Clearly the best Linkwood I’ve had so far. A stunning nose and overall on par with the lovely Clynelish TWE 10th Anniversary, although that one still has a slight edge in complexity for me. Around € 170, still available from TWE.

Score: 92/100

Linkwood 23y 1974 
(61,2%, Rare Malts, 1997)

Nose: starts pretty waxy and grassy. Mineral notes. You could think this was Clynelish. After some time, sweeter flavours become noticeable: tangerine, apple and papaya. Roses and other floral notes as well. Fresh mint leaves. Quite expressive although not too complex. Mouth: a bit alcoholic, starts on vanilla with oranges. Some melon and oak influence as well. Gets drier with spicy notes. Peppery finish. Good, especially the nose.

Score: 82/100.

Linkwood 27y 1976
(46%, Cask & Thistle 2003, 336 btl.)

Nose: sweet and fruity. A lot of estery notes. Apple cake with some cinnamon and mango. Some pineapple and milk as well (piña colada anyone?). Mouth: not very powerful. Vanilla, almonds, citrus fruit, yoghurt and floral notes (rose water which is so typical for Linkwood). A rather short finish, nice but nothing spectacular.

Overall good stuff, no flaws. But I would expect a 27 year old whisky to have something extra maybe?

Score: 84/100.

This Linkwood 1987 is probably very different, the label says “peated type” and I’ve never seen peated Linkwood before.

Linkwood 24 yo 1987 (54,6%, Liquid Sun 2011, bourbon hogshead, peated, 329 btl.)

Nose: well, yes, moderately peated. It’s a rather dry peatiness with lots of grainy notes and subtle hints of moss or wet ferns. There’s something half fruity / half buttery hidden in the back as well. Almonds maybe. Quite closed and neutral. Water doesn’t change it much. Mouth: again peaty and quite grainy. It develops into sweeter and slightly fruity notes (lemon) with a tangy herbal / bitter / grassy edge towards the end. With water: not better. Very very neutral, peated wodka with a little sugar? Finish: long, peaty with faint herbal notes and caramel.

It’s always nice to discover a peated version of an otherwise unpeated distillery, but unfortunately it doesn’t win me over. No real flaws, no excitement either. Educational whisky, I would say, certainly at around € 120. By the way, Malts of Scotland has just released a similar bottling (MoS 11008).

Score: 76/100

Linkwood 20 yo 1989 (53,5%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask 1826, 263 btl.)

Nose: quite sharp and alcoholic at first. Rather neutral flavours to be honest (malt, cereals, freshly sawn wood). Hints of rosewater (quite typical for Linkwood – more noticeable with a few drops of water). Some vanilla. Apples. Mouth: more or less the same remarks. Strong but not very complex. Pepper. Green apples. Citrus tea. After a while, it gets tannic and really gingery. Grains. Hints of tonic with a slice of lemon. Quite dry. Water doesn’t help to improve, it even becomes slightly perfumy. Finish: long, spicy. The bitter tonic is quite dominant.

This Linkwood is not my favourite bottling among the new releases by Malts of Scotland. Not bad, but overshadowed by the other new bottles on offer. The overall quality of this bottler is still very high. Around € 90.

Score: 80/100

This first-fill oloroso cask was bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, exclusively for La Maison du Whisky. They already had a similar Linkwood 1990 in 2006. A few hundreds of bottles are available.

Linkwood 18yo 1990 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail for La Maison du Whisky 2009, cask #6962)

Nose: heavily sherried. Lush notes of plums and raisins. Kirsch. Some balsamic syrup. Hints of meat (tajine lamb) and soy sauce. Dark chocolate. Very exuberant, thick sherry. Mouth: quite uncommon. Starting sweet on orange marmalade, but getting more woody and very sweet & sour. Rather sharp. Very dark, bitter chocolade. Hints of sweet vinegar. Roasted nuts, even slightly tarry. Finish: long and drying, with hints of candied lemon and walnuts. Some espresso. Quite some liquorice as well.

Difficult whisky, very intense and a tad sharp. But very interesting and as sherried as whisky can get. We’re really on the edge of tasting an old (dry) oloroso here. Still available from LMdW at this moment. € 78.

Score: 86/100