Review #74: Linkwood 16yr 1997/2013, C&S Dram Collection, 59.0%, C# 7186, ex-hogshead, 288 bottles

expecting to be pleasantly surprised ...

even though I'm expecting it. In my limited experience, Linkwood surprises on the upside, so I hope the streak continues, even as it becomes more difficult to do so.

This is from the C&S Dram collection, which I think is a German indy that uses other bottlers (in this case the Scottish Liqueur Center (or 'Centre', actually)) to do their bottling. I'm not sure who C or S is.

nose: very herbaceous. starts on dry hay but turns to green herbs and wildflowers -- yarrow, mullein -- and eventually turns sweet -- apples cooked in sweet cream butter.

palate: a little too much burn -- time to stand up a find a couple drops of water. The nose seems to become sharper and grassier with water. The palate becomes smoother, even if still aggressive -- apples and oak. It's a nice, rich, spicy apple, but not much else going on.

finish: long but somewhat drying.


I think there was good spirit here, but it never quite came into balance for me.

score: 81

Review #59: Linkwood 14yr, 1982/1997, 46%, Wilson and Morgan Barrel Selection

Only six more to go

I'm still catching up on the reviews I wrote by hand while my computer was sobering up, but I'm making progress. Now for a Linkwood. I don't know much about Linkwood. I think it closed down in the eighties, but apparently not before they made this one for me.*

nose: smells like generic Speyside whisky -- in a good way! very rich nose of honey, rose hips, grapefruit, some gooseberries, cut grass, and vanilla. a little oak spice. everything perfectly balanced.

palate is soft and yet a little too oaky. Not a whole lot going on.

Finish is nice -- mostly sweet and grassy, and very long. Some candied fruit (esp. orange) comes in at the end.

There's nothing extravagant or sensational about this, but it's very good. No gimmicks, it just holds together nicely. I'm not sure why I didn't have to pay much more for it.

score: 86


* research indicates: Linkwood shut down one of its still houses a couple years after this was distilled. It was fired back up for a while, but has gone quiet again. Weird. If I had a still house, I imagine I'd be using it.