Strictly limited to one bottle per customer.
We've tasted several dozen candidates for single cask bottlings through 2020, however none came close to Adelphi's cask #308343. There's something about youthful Linkwood pitted against first fill Oloroso - the combination works so well, Adelphi have released several sister casks in Europe (also held in extremely high regard and quickly sold out). Evidently competition is now so fierce for these freak full-term sherried Linkwoods, we could only secure half of one barrel. Adding to the attraction is the fact that Linkwood's market profile is relatively low, hence the price remains very reasonable (if this was a Glendronach or Macallan with similar credentials, you'd be scrambling to pay a whole lot more).
Linkwood starts life in the light to medium bodied Speyside camp, typically offering floral notes, freshly cut grass, apple and peach. As the whisky matures, it intensifies in texture and richness but retains much of its orchard fruit character. Whisky writer, Dave Broom explains,
"The fragrance is achieved by creating very clear wort, having a very long fermentation and distilling (slowly to maximise copper conversation) in pairs of stills in which the spirit is larger than the wash, allowing even more copper contact."
It's clear Linkwood isn't easily overwhelmed; here the weight of the malt is evident throughout, the sherry skewing the profile towards plums and dried fruits, adding its own complexing layers - especially on the nose. At first, it's mostly about nutty oloroso but also conjures coffee cake, fruit'n'nut dark chocolate, hints of peel heavy marmalade and maraschino cherries, backed up by some sweeter jammy dried fruit notes. Ten minutes in the glass turns the aroma more leathery and sweetly oaky. Tasted uncut, the malt fills out the middle beautifully. Spices ricochet around the mouth. There's a bit of prickle at the finish, which is slightly bittersweet,
chewy, oaky and leathery. It's with minimal water that this really comes into its own, delivering a luscious Linkwoodian rush, glazed with delicious sherry
(add another point or two to the score here). It gets more expansive, shows better definition and achieves near perfect balance while bringing out those juicy plum and dried fruit notes. The length is also quite something. As with all heavily sherried malts, we strongly recommend extended breathing to show this at its best. Less than 100 bottles available.
One cask and one chance only while this opening price holds. 55.4% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered.
