Linkwood 37 Special Releases 2016 [Road to #1000, Review #990]

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!

Updated Distillery Rankings

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.

Why is this here?

Johnnie Walker Ghost & Rare- Port Ellen [Road to #1000, Review #982]

Hi everyone,

Despite being the devilish diabolical despot of the whisky industry, Diageo also bring out some damn interesting whiskies.

There seem to be never ending different editions of the Blue Label (London Edition, year of the Monkey, a cask strength one, King George V, among others) but this newer series of blended whiskies that celebrate some of Diageo’s closed and rare stocks did stick out. For one, they had a list of the distilleries used on the back and for another this version focusses on Port Ellen.

How much Port Ellen was actually used in the batch we have no idea. However, we do know that it was blended with grain whisky from Carsebridge and Caledonian (both closed) with malts from Mortlach, Oban, Dailuaine, Cragganmore and Blair Athol.

Once again, thanks go to Colin Dunn for the sample.

Johnnie Walker Ghost & Rare- Port Ellen 43.8%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Closed at first, red apple and faint Islay smoke, malt, creamy vanilla, definite Talisker-esque spice- black pepper, cumin. After a bit there’s a little garden shed thing, spiced honey but it’s all a little flat.

Taste: Soft but lacking power, creamy grain, some vanilla, cream soda, spice and malt coming in then, black pepper, long development with smoke and chocolate, more malt, lightly earthy.

Finish: Medium length. Seems to fall short but comes back with late earthy malt and dark chocolate.

Not amazing on the smell (it might need more time to open up) but good taste and finish. I think the grain may have been a bit flat and that’s dragging it down. I do love the information on the label giving us the different distilleries used and this is an interesting take (and a slight improvement) on the usual Blue Label.

74/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #824

Whisky Network Review #982

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.

Why is this here?

Clynelish Reserve- Game of Thrones House Tyrell Review

Hi everyone,

You may have noticed that Diageo brought out some whiskies with mythical, strange creatures on the labels that seem to be something to do with a tv series.

I was not excited for these whiskies. I didn’t really care. I had a funny feeling that the whole thing was a marketing exercise and a way of pushing ‘collectable’ whisky that they had no intention of limiting, therefore making it redundant. I also had a funny feeling that, where they could, Diageo would just use whiskies that they were releasing already and, where they were not, it gives them a handy excuse to get rid of certain stocks they don’t want.

The one whisky that held some semblance of hope was the Clynelish, because its good whisky and it was at a decent strength.

Some history though; the reason that many of us love Clynelish is for its waxy and oily character, that some have said comes from the fact that Daigeo never cleaned out the spirit safe, like since Clynelish 2 started in the late sixties.

Diageo cleaned that spirit safe a few years back. I can’t remember exactly when, but I heard it from a few different sources. And I have another funny feeling that this whisky is the result and, if not, just substandard.

Clynelish Game of Thrones House Tyrell 51.2%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Light

Nose: Light, floral, young, malty. Not a lot of complexity

Taste: Soft, floral, spirity and young, some chocolate and orange.

Finish: Short length. More malty and some spice and spirit

Quite a young Clyn with none of the waxy and oiliness I would expect.

64/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #786

Whisky Network Review #933

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 a 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.

Why is this here?

Benrinnes 23 1985 (Scotch Review #700)

Hi everyone,

Scotch Review 700 is here and it’s a good’un.

Benrinnes has always been a firm favourite of many for its meaty, slightly sulphury notes from the partial triple distillation they did pre-2007.

Of these, the 1985 vintage, 2009 special releases of the 23 year old is known, particularly on Reddit, as one of the best Scotch bottlings ever, with multiple scores of 100/100 and some other damn high ones besides.

Luckily I managed to pick up a bottle in Scotland a while back for a not ridiculous sum of monies, but I’ve always been curious to how it tastes without having to open my precious bottle… Had a chance to try it at Bottle Market in Bremen recently.

Let’s have a warm up first shall we?

Benrinnes 2001 The Single Cask 50%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Delicate and light, with some underhand heating it gives more gristy meatiness, grain whisky-esque otherwise, malt and lemon.

Taste: Crisp and clean, great green apple note, very fresh, then more muscular with oak, red apple, oily mouthfeel, malt and lemon.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Lovely finish. Great oily malt, soft chocolate and heather and lemon. Great balance here.

Shame the nose is a bit light for my taste, still, the finish is spot on.

76/100

 

Benrinnes 23 1985 58.8%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Complex. Powerful nose with lots going on. Old school heavy spirit and old school heavy Sherry. Red apple and black pepper, dried blood, truffle chocolates, earthy malt and leather. More leathery as it opens up with old polished furniture.

Water: A little lighter with more ethereal sweetness, more oak but still not too much, Old Balvenie-esque orange and old wood panelled library, musky, pretty much keeps developing endlessly.

Taste: Powerful and thick. HUGE mouthfeel! Massive whisky. Oily for days, red apple, black pepper, rich Sherry, cherry, somehow it’s all in balance too! Slightly mineral pockets of flavour too.

Water: More balanced arrival, builds slowly now, more sweetness, more Sherry, raisin, more dry oak too. There's a little sharpness in the mid-palate now but it’s so so minor.

Finish: Long length. The oils! More chocolate, more meatiness here, chewy. Gravy? Perhaps... Malty gravy. Pretty damn great.

2009 Special Releases. What can I say? Legendary.

A damn sight better than the 21yo release from a while back. Its sweeter, more muscular, better balanced and with more power. Very glad I’ve got a bottle tucked away.

91/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #699-#700

Whisky Network Reviews #835-#836

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 a 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.

Why is this here?

Singleton of Glen Ord 14 Review

Hi everyone,

This was the other Special Release I was very excited about and that surprised everyone. Partially, I think, because Glen Ord is a bit of an unknown distillery but mostly because it was mid-priced, which we see very little of in the SR’s these days (only the Laga 12 and the Unpeated Caol Ila’s really).

When I tried this I had thought it was just straight refill Bourbon and Hogshead matured, which the taste seemed to confirm… but then reading a little background I realised that that was not the case at all. Whisky Exchange put it like this: ‘European oak ex-sherry and refill American oak ex-bourbon casks, then the spirit was moved to ex-Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel casks, and finally it was married together in European oak puncheons.’

Anywho, I got this sample off the ever generous Colin Dunn at a festival and was able to taste it at home.

 

Singleton of Glen Ord 14 57.6%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Interesting stuff! The malt is the big player here, fruity too with apple, lemon, melon and exotic orange. The minerality makes it for me, lovely chalky note with some crushed stone, a little oak with cinnamon, marshmallow and wood spice.

Water: More fruity with loads of pear and green apple, much fresher with the malt retreating.

Taste: Soft arrival, cutting citrus, lemon juice to start then the oak comes in with this delicious malt note, ginger and black pepper, melon, complex, mineral notes now coming in with that chalky crushed stone. Masterfully balanced, really.

Water: Fresher here too with more lemon and melon, pear and green apple. Quite sour now though, so loses some balance.

Finish: Long length. A burst of citrus before more malt comes in, some heather and a little chocolate right at the end.

Special Releases 2018. Distilled 2002. Super impressed with this. Delicious and very enjoyable. Despite all the messing around with the casks, it comes across as a very natural style that stays true to the spirit.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Ranking

Scotch Review #692

Whisky Network Review #826

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 a 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.

Why is this here?

Talisker 8 Special Releases 2018 Review

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lucky enough to try two of Diageo’s Special Releases 2018 so far. The two most exciting: Talisker 8 and Glen Ord 14.

I was super excited for this one in particular because I haven’t tried a whole lot of cask strength Talisker but its one of my old favourites, being a big fan of the 10, 18 & DE, oh and the 30 of course. Basically everything they’ve done with an age statement. Hell, even Skye I liked.

So what is this young, Bourbon matured Talisker all about?

 

Talisker 8 2018 Special Releases 59.4%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Fruity and raw. Tequila, herbal, cigar smoke, cigarettes.

Water: NMS comes out with fruity gummy bears.

Taste: Full, powerful arrival, spicy with black pepper and red apple, wood smoke, lemon.

Water: Softer, less fruit and more average spice.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Spices fade easily, leaving you a bit disappointed.

Personally, I prefer the 10 and the 18 and the Distiller's Edition. People have been rating this very highly but for me there isn’t enough complexity or balance here despite the higher strength and cask selection. Bit of a disappointment considering the price compared to the 10 or 18.

70/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #681

Whisky Network Review #815

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 a 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.

Why is this here?

Johnnie 'White Walker' Review

Hi everyone,

A new Johnnie Walker has landed in our midst and it is very gimmicky.

Capitalising on the success of the Games of Thrones series, they are releasing a series of whiskies based on the various warring factions with this blended whisky being the first. Is there anything different about this one? I don’t know but the bottle shares a secret message when iced…

Winter is coming…

 

Johnnie White Walker 41.7%

Colour: E150a

Body: Light

Nose: Light and floral, grain based, Cameronbridge but quite true to the spirit, clean, pretty much 100% grain whisky here. BUT it isn’t bad grain whisky. Not ethanol-y or nail polish remover-y.

Taste: Creamy vanilla, soft, lots of Cameronbridge grain but not unpleasant, floral, slightly waxy and oilier as it goes on.

Finish: Medium length. Creamy vanilla, some biscuit and wax. Maybe a tiny touch of smoke (Highland style Caol Ila?) Better complexity here. Good finish.

Not bad at all. Mid-aged Cameronbridge with a touch of Clynelish and an even tinier touch of unpeated Caol Ila for a little body? Could probably do with being plopped in the freezer for a while.

66/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #677

Whisky Network Review #811

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 a 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.

Why is this here?

Singleton of Dufftown 12yo, Tailfire & Malt Master's Selection Reviews

Hi everyone,

I only realised the other day, when looking through the sidebar on my blog, that I haven’t reviewed a whisky from Dufftown distillery yet, which is crazy because my first bottle of single malt whisky I bought was Singleton of Dufftown 12.

Its never been a particularly impressive or well regarded distillery though and the attempts of Diageo to make something of it as a single malt seem to have fallen a little flat. They tried age statements, then they tried no age statements with cool names and now they have a new one that just sounds the same as everything else on the market. I’ve tried three from these different eras.

Singleton of Dufftown 12 40%

Colour: E150a

Body: Light

Nose: Fruity Speyside, lots of stewed apple, sweet pear, pastry, hot fruit crumble, apple pie, apple juice, some nut, some malty chocolate, cream.

Taste: Fruit and nut. Soft and mellow. Nutty, malty arrival, fruity development- Soft apple, pear, lots of vanilla, some honey, little bit of spice.

Finish: Short length. Fades gently with... well nothing really.

My 1st single malt whisky! Mental that I hadn’t reviewed this before. Quite thin and average at times, especially into the finish.

64/100

Singleton of Dufftown Tailfire 40%

Colour: E150a

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Fresh, strawberry, sweet fudge, sweet toffee, raspberry and meringue, pavlova, clotted cream.

Taste: Soft, 'smooth,' sweet toffee, fudge, biscuit, vanilla then creamy with strawberry vodka?!, some young spirity notes into the finish.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Strawberry vodka, spirity.

A bit different with those obvious fruity strawberry notes but it ends up being artificial and thin again. Almost tastes more like a grain whisky actually.

62/100

 

Singleton of Dufftown Malt Master’s Selection 40%

Colour: E150a

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Malty, pear, marzipan and red apple. A little praline shell chocolate, but fairly classic Speyside. Vanilla and pastry after a bit.

Taste: Soft, vanilla, creamy, red apple, some ginger, some oak, apple juice, then malt and some generic chocolate.

Finish: Short length. Lacking power then more malty with chocolate again.

Another young one I think. Shows off more of a natural style though.

66/100

Updated Distillery Rankings

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #668-#670

Whisky Network Reviews #801-#803

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 a 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.

Why is this here?