Signatory Vintage: Linkwood: 1991 (Scottish Speyside Single Malt Whisky: 19 years: 43% ABV)

Visual: Very pale grain.

Viscosity: A mix of thick and middling thickness streaks. Also odd mix of slothful and quick streaks.  Can’t really get a firm reading of the spirit from it.

Nose: Planed wood. Sugar dusting. Raisins and slightly plumy. Quite potent and rich with obvious spirit air, marzipan. Water lightens out allowing much more of the marzipan out and much less of the spirit.

Body: Custard sweet and significant alcohol burn behind it. Slight charring. Water makes slightly almond like. Water makes much sweeter with a golden syrup touch.

Finish: Light charring. Nutty. Quiet spirit style still. Slight malt chocolate, or perhaps chocolate almonds.  Clusters cereal.

Conclusion: Quite the intriguing aroma. Some of my companions described it as almost like meths. I wouldn’t quiet say that myself, but it is potent, requiring water to smooth it out.  Brings with it a lovely raisin, plum and nut aroma with the strength though.

The main body is very clean by comparison, not quiet paying off the promise of the aroma. Mainly a light nuttiness comes through. It works better with water which gives a nice sweetness and really lets the nuttiness take to the floor.

So without the water this is tad too much spirit, with water it feels somewhat like a less forceful Strathisla with it’s emphasise on the nuttiness.

Not too complex, but nice. Especially when you can get the burn down. For the years it has on it you would expects something tad smoother and more complex though.  So nice enough with water, but I can’t really see a reason to pick it over a good Strathisla.

Background: Drunk with friends at the tasting room.  Quite the range of whiskies were ordered resulting in the poor staff having to take down about half the bottles from the shelf.  I’ve never tried Linkwood before, so it was good to experiment.  I do like the range of bottles Signatory Vintage brings, though I will admit in my heart I probably prefer the Connoisseurs Choice range. Still it’s good to have the choice to pick from

Advertisement