Watt Whisky Linkwood 13yo...

Watt Whisky Linkwood 13yo (59.3%): "WWW" ak.a. "Watt Whisky Week" continues with a Linkwood... Linkwood has been a favorite of blenders and independent bottlers for a long time. The distillery is one of Diageo's workhorses and has a quite sizable capacity of 5,600,000 liters of pure alcohol per year. The whisky I have in the sample bottle is distilled in 2007 and matured in an ex-Bourbon hogshead for 13 years before being bottled. 229 bottles in total have been made available at cask strength. 

Color: As pale as it gets... Unoaked white wine, straw color with immediate but thick and oily looking legs.

Nose: Dunnage warehouse, tutti-frutti and sawdust. Fresh apricots, sliced peaches and honeysuckles. A few drops of water improved the nose for sure: Kumquats, clementines and bubblegum. Vanilla, spearmint leaves and fresh pineapples.

Palate: Warming, thick and mouth coating. Very spirit forward... Lemonade, apple pie and pine honey. With water: Lightly toasted oak, Meyer lemons and orange peel. Candied orange peel actually... Green Altoids and custard.

Finish: Long and tingling on the tongue with lemon twist, vanilla and white pepper. Pencil shavings...

Overall: I can see why Linkwood has been and still is so popular among blenders. This is a very solid backbone to build a blend on. It is weighty and thick in texture and packed with citrusy, minty and sweet notes both on the nose and on the palate. Loved the not overpowering cask chosen. I like these distillate driven whiskies... A solid buy for that price as well. Huge thanks to Kate and Mark for the sample.

Price: £68

89/100