Linkwood 27 Year 1990, Signatory Vintage 30th Anniversary Collection — Whiskery Turnip

Jan 9

Jan 9 Linkwood 27 Year 1990, Signatory Vintage 30th Anniversary Collection

Whiskery Turnip

Scotch

Whisky : Linkwood 27 Year 1990, Signatory Vintage 30th Anniversary Collection

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 50.3%

Cask : Hogshead

Age : 27 Years (Distilled 26 Nov. 1990, Bottled 14 June 2018)

Nose : Fruity floral notes of tea, berries, and dried fruit peel. Fainter hints of butterscotch, white chocolate, and cherry cordials lingered in the background.

Palate : Medium bodied with a nice bold flavor profile, especially for the age. Lovely notes of herbal sweet tea as well orange blossom and honey came at first. A mild astringency built over time along with ginger, apricot, and almond pastries. The back end was all grass jellies, orange rinds, and herbal tea.

Finish : Lingering herbal tea, honey, and a mild dryness.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Lemon-Honey Tea VS The Sniffles

Notes : If I were to describe this to someone who knew little about scotch, I would tell them this was ‘smooth and friendly.’ This was by far one of the tastiest Linkwood I have ever tried and it really packed an unexpected flavor punch. The aroma was relatively subdued, but the actual flavor profile reprised a similar set of notes at a higher volume. This was packed full of a lot more flavor than I expected at 27 Years and I could not help by compare this to 39.180 “Smokers on a new Carpet” a SMWS Linkwood I tried last year. That bottle was shockingly disappointing, enough so that I generally steered clear of the distillery afterwards. This Signatory bottle has brought me back around— while I see a lot of similarities between the one I did not like and this, both had floral tea notes and a subtle astringency, this one had a lot less woody antiques and felt overall a lot more coherent.

Overall, this was exactly what you want when you are grabbing a nearly three decade old malt— bold flavors, good body, and an overarching smooth experience. The only thing really holding this back was the finish, which was not as long as I hoped, and a flavor profile not really in line with my personal preferences.