Those of you who follow my posts regularly will have no doubt noticed that the updates have been a little bit few and far between recently, and for that I do apologise, but powers beyond my control have had me a touch busy over the last 6 weeks or so.
Not to worry though, time is back on my side again and I'm firmly back on the whisky trail, exploring my way through this dramtastic world and bringing it all to you in true Whiskey_Belfast blog update style.
To kick things off I'm heading back to an area visited a couple of months ago and as you have obviously noticed, from the title, I'm back at a Whiskybroker.co.uk bottling. For those of you not familiar with this website please take a look at the previous update by clicking here and this should get you all up to speed.
This time around I shall be enjoying the delights of Linkwood Distillery.
Based in Elgin, Speyside, and built in 1821, this distillery has enjoyed a rather unnoticed history. A few closures and even fewer official releases have resigned this dram to the long list of "blend fillers" and this could be where it gathers the majority of any fame it has, as it's most noticeably used in the make up of Johnnie Walker.
 |
| Linkwood Distillery |
In 2008, current owners, Diageo allowed some scope by releasing some aged stock but it remains to be seen what the future holds for this distillery.
Taking all that into consideration don't be fooled into thinking that this whisky is anything less than decent. In fairness I have no experience of this dram but was pleasantly surprised by what I found when sampling this offering bottled by Whiksybroker.co.uk.
As with all Whiskybroker.co.uk bottlings this has had only basic filtration to remove large lumps of cask and there's obviously no colour added. This particular bottling was distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2013 at a strength of 51.2%.
Nose - Not your typical sherried Speysider. White fruit, green apple, grapefruit, lemon drops, grainy biscuit. Can sense the 51.2% with peppery heat. A slight green / herbal note appears to give the whole experience a great freshness to it. Just hiding, in the background, is a old wood note but it's so subtle that you could easily miss it. With water the biscuit and grain becomes more obvious.
Palate - WOW!! That is hot!! Fighting through the heat an intense zing comes through. As the alcohol settles the fruit comes back. More lemon, nice dusty aged notes hiding within green apple. Sour apple sweets, sweet malt, very juicy and not drying. With water this dram becomes unbelievably balanced working it's way between age, fruit and malt.
Finish - Good length and still fruity.
Overall this is one highly enjoyable glass of whisky and one that you could spend an age with. As with each Whiskybroker.co.uk bottling I've tried there is always a string alcoholic nip that undoubtedly comes from the presentation but when you allow them to settle and give them time and respect the whisky experience is utterly rewarding.
Well that's me back and stayed tuned as the updates shall be coming thick and fast....I've certainly plenty of drams to keep me busy.
All that's left is for me to give a HUGE shout of thanks to @MashtunandMeow who kindly supplied me with this fine sample. If you happen to be on Twitter then I highly recommend you check them out for some excellent views on food, beer and fine spirits....with an occasional cat thrown in for good measure!! Cheers guys!!
Until next time,
Sláinte
SI
No comments:
Post a Comment