Over to indy bottled regular Linkwood for a 12 year old matured in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead.
Nose: Clean and fresh with cotton sheets and pressed laundry supported by peaches, melon and lemon curd. Running throughout – soft-peaked meringue and pancake batter and a vein of delicate floral elements – rosehips, lavender and buttercups. Water unlocks Battenberg cake and lemon oil alongside a dollop of honey and a sprinkle of chocolate.
Taste: A deeper and less fruit-forward opening – patented leather and suede alongside chopped almonds, aromatic wood and a waft of moist golden tobacco leaf. The mid palate offers up sweeter flavours with candied lemon peels, tart gooseberries and grapefruit segments. Reduction adds juicy tinned apricot alongside pear juicy and an emergent tang of minerality.
Finish: Quite long with fading rosewater, prominent stone fruits and dusty oakiness.
This Linkwood offers more than it says on the tin. The ‘petals’ are certainly thee, but there’s a deeper complexity deriving from fabrics and fruits which is also heightened and expanded upon when subjected to dilution. Tasty and quaffable – but equally happy being explored slowly and methodically.