This year I had a chance to try the Lagavulin 12 Years, Brora 38 Years and Port Ellen 37 Years first. Now I was able to try the other Special Releases as well. Which one would you have opened first?
I went for the Linkwood 37 Year Old, because you don’t see Linkwood all that often, and because quite a few other reviewers highlighted it as one of their favourites in this batch.
Linkwood 37 yo 1978 (50,3%, OB 2016, Special Release, 6114 btl.)
Linkwood 37 yo 1978 (50,3%, OB 2016, Special Release, 6114 btl.)Nose: rather classic entry on golden apples and honey. Peaches. Something of the tropical fruitiness that you often get in really old Speyside whisky, but with more body. Paraffin candles. Dried flowers and hints of wet wool. Dignified really.
Mouth: a sweet, creamy fruitiness at first (peach, apple), quickly moving towards darker notes of blackberries and fudge. Slowly developing some chalky notes and a slightly bitter, herbal edge. Dark chocolate with salt flakes in the background. Quite leafy in the end. Hints of pinewood.
Finish: fruits and herbs, with lots of mineral notes.
An interesting dram that shows the expected, classic fruits while flirting with oak tannins and frankly mineral and chalky elements. Complex and rather classy, but certainly less special I hoped. Around € 750.
Score: 88/100