Linkwood 11 Year, Scotch Universe Lunar Crater Picard
Whisky : Linkwood 11 Year, Scotch Universe Lunar Crater Picard
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 51.6%
Cask : First Fill Oloroso Hogshead
Age : 11 Years (Distilled 2009, Bottled 2020)
Nose : Malty pastries, spice, and chocolate. Fragrant spread of cookies— gingersnap, speculaas, and molasses with caramel stroop waffles also available. Rich baking spices emerged with cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, and a hint of nutmeg. Beyond the spice and pastries were roasty sweet notes of espresso and chocolate.
Palate : Medium bodied with a nice oiliness and notes of tropical fruits, pastries, and spice. Initial sweet wave of fruit punch, almond floats, and molasses cookies. Passionfruit iced cupcakes, candied ginger, and lemon poppyseed pound cake all came to find. At the end were notes of macarons and almond pastries along with a mild dryness. A few drops of water brought forward the fruity-nutty impression of almonds.
Finish : Dry and fruity with stem ginger and a subtle citrus.
Score : 5
Mental Image : Fruit Punch flavored Macaron
Notes : I am not a huge fan of macarons— though I do love the history of the word and find it fascinating how its entered into English twice— initially as macaroon (adding -oon in place of -on was common for French words entering English: platoon, pantaloon, balloon, etc) and then a second time as macaron. Between those two introductions the type of pastry that the word referred to in French changed— at least in some places— to the sort of light almond cookie most people think of today. That was a lot of words just to say that this dram reminded me a lot of a macaron between notes of fruit flavoring and the sort of nutty-fruity flavor of almond extract or flavoring.
Overall, this had a lovely profile of fruits and pastries. This felt very cask driven and I am not sure how much of the Linkwood spirit really poked through. It was at times a bit dry and sweet for my taste, and it was a bit simple, but it was still a lovely experience. This was not the sort of thing I would go pick up, but I would happily accept a pour.
Image Credit : whisky.com
