Hi everyone,
We’re onto the big guns now!
If you have been following me for a while (hopefully just my writings, otherwise it’s kinda creepy), you might remember this old post about Linkwood.
Essentially, it boils down to the fact that in 1971 Diageo built a second distillery at Linkwood just like they did at Clynelish and (weirdly) Glendullan. In Linkwood’s case, they closed the old Worm Tub using distillery in 1985.
Which puts this 1978 vintage whisky smack bang in the middle of all that confusing craziness! Were the casks from Linkwood A or B? We do not know. Perhaps it’s a combination of both… I think it is likely that Diageo knew that there was a difference and marked the casks but we have no way of knowing.
This is another sample courtesy of the legend that is Colin Dunn. Thank you sir!
Linkwood 37 50.3%
Colour: Gold
Body: Medium/Full
Nose: The most amazing balance of fruit and honey, both delicious and evocative, melon and green apple, amazingly fresh for this age, delicate malt and dry old oak, leather and a little tobacco, some cocoa powder. The blend of freshness and dark old notes is really cool. Ooooo, and now there's a little strawberry note creeping out.
Taste: Old and dry, the oak is quite intense first off but then goes into fresh fruit with the melon and green apple, a little grassy, leather and tobacco, a little golden raisin, some malt in there, heather. Again great balance and power here. Builds and builds with the oak coming back with a bit of dried strawberry and strawberry fruit pastille.
Finish: Long length. Really great transition into cocoa powder and dark chocolate with much more leather. Complex and really well balanced finish. Really stays with you.
Special Releases 2016, distilled 1978. I had a feeling this would be a good one. I might have preferred it a little younger but I was amazed by the freshness this still had after 37 years. Personally I think Linkwood is pretty underrated and this is still available for about £600. It doesn’t quite go into emotional territory though.
89/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Review #828
Whisky Network Review #990
Network Average: 75.1
Best Score: 94
Worst Score: 12
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.
