Linkwood Limited Release 37 Year Old Single Malt Whisky 750ml

Manufacturer's Notes: Swans still glide across the Distillery pond at Linkwood, where a timeless calm pervades the air around the old warehouse. Founded near Elgin in 1825 and considered a classic speyside, Linkwood was one of the few malts sold as a "self" or Single malt in Victorian times. Here is its story.

A Graceful Spirit: Vistors will often find a pair of shining white guardians patrolling the distillery lake at Linkwood. It's a perfect, graceful, unchanging scene. Swans have lived here for countless years beside the pretty dam, along with other water birds such as ducks, heron, water hen and shags. Graceful Perfection is also evident in the two swan-necked stills of the original distillery, on which this precious spirit was made, while outside it was cooled in the original cast iron worm tubs.

A Special Aura: Men like Roderick Mackenzie, the distillery manager from 1945-1963, have long sought to protect the special aura of Linkwood, linking it to the very quality of her spirit. Distrusting change, he was so conerned to preserve the character of his whisky that he forbade even the clearance of cobwebs in the ware house... Later in life he supervised rebuilding, the new stills exact replicas of the old as was usual, and carefully ensured that nothing changed in the way ther were operated.

A Family Legacy: Established in 1825 by Peter Brown, Linkwood was built to extend the productivity of his farm but soon became more important. Taking over in 1869, his son William operated the distillery for another Twenty-five years. Rebuilding and enlarging it in 1872-3 to meet growing demand. Nurtured by the Brown family for over seventy years, Linkwood became one of the few malts to be sold as a Single Malt Scotch Whisky, and not just for blending, as more usual in Victorian times.

A Growing Demand:  Demand for Linkwood continued to outstrip supply, until in 1971 a new still house was built to run alongside the old. In this building, some change did come, with new stills that used condensers for cooling, instead of the old iron worm tubs. But the water for distilling still comes from springs near Millbuies Loch, and cooling water still drawn from the Burn of Linkwood. And the swans still glide on the lake beside the dam, as they always have.

Clean And Light: This is a delightfully clean and light Linkwood that is both elegant and stylish: The epitome of Speyside 'Fineese'. Displaying typical fresh fruit and floral characters, the nose takes its time to intoduce the elegance and complexity found on the palate and in the finish. It's soft, and opens gentley, nut then dslowly fills out to present delicate fresh-fruit salad notes over a base of crumbly fudge. Gradually it becomes deeper and richer, growing gracefully heady and intoxicating,

Smooth and Dry:  The palate is compelling. First, it has a generous, smooth texture: fruity, sweet and sugary overall, then it's warming and tart. with backed apple in the mid palate. An appetising dryness soon develops, with black tea offset by herbal notes, rum and raisin ice cream, lime and waxy vanilla. Finally, there's some ginger and a little salt. The finish is long and warm. With a peppery tingle. a little spice lingers in the aftertaste, resolute and unchanging. A quality you'll find at Linkwood itself, and in those who shaped it.