Review - Linkwood 25 Year Old Gordon & MacPhail Single Malt Scotch Whisky

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Rating 4.5 Glasses

• Distillery: Linkwood Distillery
• (Matured & bottled by Gordon & MacPhail)
  • Years Aged: 25
  • Proof: 86
    • Local Price (USD): N/A ~$200.00
      • Availability: Rare

 

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Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Dark maple with fat bottom legs... Delicious
• Nose: Floral & citrus. A freshly cut grass field glistening with morning dew... Delicious
• Taste: Sherry forward with a hint of lemon zest. Thick, oily & waxy with tannins that remind us of a rich Malbec... Delicious
  • Finish: Ginger with a hint of fennel, vanilla & cinnamon in the transition.... Delicious
• Conclusion: First, a moment of silence for the spilled Linkwood on the patio....................
• Ok, we can continue - Absolutely an amazing dram and even though the grass is always greener across the pond, definitely one of if not the finest Speysides we've had to date. Purchased at Cadenhead's Whisky Shop in Edinburgh, Scotland. Unfortunately this particular vintage is not available stateside but we were lucky enough to score a bottle thanks to a visiting friend. Enough said... Delicous

Distillery Info & History

Located on the outskirts of Elgin (though now within its ever-growing suburbs) Linkwood was established in 1821, but only started production in 1824. Owner Peter Brown was the factor [manager] of the Linkwood Estate and wisely kept his nose clean until the 1823 Excise Act was on the stature book.

It was completely rebuilt in 1874 by his son William and existed as an independent distiller, run by an Elgin-based whisky broker, until 1932 when it joined the DCL stable. It has remained in production ever since, with regular upgrades taking place, most significantly in 1972 when a new distillery was built opposite the old buildings.

Both plants ran until 1985 when the original ceased production, although it was still used as an experimental site – it was here that a lot of Diageo’s research into copper, reflux and the effect of worm tubs took place. In the late 1990s it was on the shortlist to become the Speyside representative in The Classic Malts range.

In 2012, the old building was demolished as part of yet another upgrade. This time six new washbacks were installed in a new distillery along with two new stills. Capacity is now in excess of 5.5m litres per annum. 

Linkwood is bottled as a 12-year-old in Diageo’s Flora & Fauna range, and for many years quasi-official bottlings have come from Gordon & MacPhail of Elgin – often from ex-Sherry casks.

Source: https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/1876/linkwood/

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Review - Old Forester Statesman™ Bourbon

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Rating 2.5 Glasses

• Distillery: Old Forester Distillery
  • Years Aged: N/A
  • Proof: 95
    • Local Price (USD): $54.95
      • Availability: Widespread

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Tarnished gold with slowly burning matchsticks for legs
• Nose: Floral with lemon & vanilla spice
• Taste: Light on the palate with a hit of cracked black pepper and citrus
  • Finish: Some caramel and spice that just can't hang on long enough to appreciate and gives up the ghost.
• Conclusion: Not bad and definitely welcome proof bump compared to the original but overall pretty unimpressive blend for all the fanfare that was put into this bottling. This particular selection would be a better value at $30 price point. 

• Background: Statesman: In the movie they are a secret American organization posing as a bourbon whiskey distillery in Kentucky. Branded with the Statesman™ name and released to the public one month before the theater date of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle", Old Forester's Website claims that it was inspired by the dynamic characters in the film. Interestingly, this release is blended from casks of their Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky they pulled from the warmest areas of the warehouse.

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Review - Barlow Trail Port Cask Finish American Whiskey

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Rating 2.5 Glasses

• Distillery: Big Bottom Distillery
• Years Aged: N/A
  • Proof: 91
    • Local Price (USD): $39.75
      • Availability: Widespread

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Rich mahogany & fat sticky legs 
• Nose: A lumber mill wet with morning dew. The port comes through like the Kool-Aid man through concrete.

• Taste: Thick bitter woodiness and heavy oak tannins. Cherry cough syrup.
  • Finish: Marred by a lingering bitterness much like an overdose of NyQuil™
• Conclusion: Batch No. 10. Good well rounded whiskey for beginners that lends itself to the sweeter side of life thanks to finishing off in port wine casks. It's price is slightly reaching in this category but would be a great stocking stuffer for Christmas.

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Review - Kilchoman Sanaig

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Rating 3.5 Glasses

• Distillery: Kilchoman Distillery
  • Years Aged: N/A
  • Proof: 92
    • Local Price (USD): $76.00
      • Availability: Widespread
•  
• From Kilchoman's Website:
• Kilchoman is the first distillery to be established on Islay in over 124 years. The distillery was built in 2005, with the first run of new spirit comming off the stills later that year. It is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland with an annual production of approximatley 120,000 litres of alcohol and is one of only six distilleries to carry out traditional floor maltings. Their barley is grown right there on the farm, whereas other distilleries purchase barley from around the country. Anthony Wills, the founder and managing director of the Kilchoman Distillery Co Ltd ran his own independent single cask bottling company for 8 years when he came up with the idea of building a farm distillery. Islay was chosen as the location for the distillery because of it’s reputation for producing top quality malts, and also because Anthony knew the island well having married into a family that had owned an estate on the Island for 60 years. Specifically Rockside Farm was chosen because of the ideal buildings available and because the farm grows the best malting barley on the island.
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Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Golden wheat with mildly developing legs that run into oblivion
• Nose: Peat, sherry & caramel with a hint of brine. Light stewed fruits & hazlenuts
• Taste: Peat again, sweet, orange/citrus rind and vanilla
  • Finish: Take everything that is great about the taste and just let it linger awhile
• Conclusion: Definitely gets two points for presentation. Just sniff, sip, repeat. Sweeter than most Islay Scotch but really a delicious combination of flavors and the sweetness is not overpowering. We would buy this one again in a heartbeat although its unique history and flavor most likely warrant the higher price tag, it may be somewhat of a hold back.

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Review - Highspire Whiskey Batch No. 003

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Rating 2.5 Glasses

• Distillery: Kindred Distilled Spirits, LLC
  • Years Aged: N/A
  • Proof: 80
    • Local Price (USD): $44.99
      • Availability: Uncommon

 

Tasting Notes

• Color & Consistency: Amber with quick legs
• Nose: Rye. A floral shop where all the flowers are past their prime. Reminiscent of a young tequila or freshly cut grain field.
• Taste: Light and savory. Caramel, grains and citrus notes.
  • Finish: Play-dough & candy wax (Apparently some of the sidekicks had a play-dough eating problem as a child) 
• Conclusion: 100% Pure Rye mash bill. Aged 4 months in oak wine barrels from California. We wouldn't buy it again but if you are a Rye fan and want to try something unique within the same family we'd say give it a go. Very, very young. The uniqueness keeps it a 1/2 glass above 2. Not currently available in Oregon.

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