'The Prequel'- Linkwood 15 Years Old

In true British style, this blog will begin with a bit of a throwback- in this case it will be a bottle of fifteen year old Speyside malt, purchased in triumph some months ago. Upon tasting it multiple times amidst the rising heat and idleness of summer it occurred to me that it might be fun to adopt a less sporadic approach to whisky, given self's previous purchase range could fairly be described as somewhat scattergun. However, I decided that I should take it one step further and publish several series of doggerel documenting my discoveries about Scotland's whisky regions and their produce. To start this voyage of the amber oceans, there will be a short series on each of the Scottish regions which produce whisky, based around five bottles from each region, hopefully with observations and ideas which may illustrate the "novice" view of the whisky sphere.

Linkwood Single Malt, 15 Years Old, Speyside. Bottled by Gordon and MacPhail.
The purchase of this bottle pre-dates the blog plan, hence it should be viewed as a prequel to the upcoming series on Speyside single malts. I had in mind when buying it that I wanted to buy a higher quality whisky, specifically an older and more "niche" whisky. Something you'll never find in a supermarket. Hence I decided tin the shop to pick an independent bottling for the first time , and having read good things about it,selected this Linkwood. The case was advanced further by it's participation in Johnnie Walker Green Label, which I had previously enjoyed.

Upon looking back at the journal entries of a marvellous June, I see that my first palate note reads, "Puts me in mind of Johnnie Walker Green Label, without any thought of it beforehand. Peppery tinge. Finish oaken warmth, fresh baked brown bread. Dark sherry, little sweetness- honey coming through lightly-almost malted honey?" It proceeded to open up- that is, to present a more obvious progression through flavours of heather honey, berry fruit and sherry flavours, upon adding water. However I noticed at the time that "I could not discern layered flavours undiluted, they were locked away in a spiritous oak chest (with a tartan padlock)". Here then, was a complex array of flavours, scents, and textures which presented a challenge to my knowledge of whisky, and whilst I enjoyed it, noting that "it knocks the socks off Glenlivet 18 Year Old " which was my only previous Speyside purchase, the bottle presented the suggestion that to better enjoy such bottles in future, I would have to explore more. There was the inception of this blog.

I will put up some more malt musings later,and perhaps revisit this enigmatic creation in the mists of time. Next up however, the journey begins!