Pintail – Linkwood 2008 14 Years Old Manzanilla Sherry Finish 53.5% ABV (The Whisky Cellar).

Ex-Manzanilla Sherry casks aren’t commonly used in the secondary maturation of Scotch (though increasingly so in recent years) but we just love how the full 12-month ‘finish’ in this cask has create not a ‘sherry bomb’ in style but rather a delicate, floral-sweet malt with a beautiful saline, almost sea-salty hint. Linkwood’s inherent fruit-forward style works perfectly in tandem here. Notes of chamomile and lemon blossom in harmony with toasted almonds and baked, salty sourdough bread spread with honey, with citrus marmalade and yellow apple skins.

Manzanilla Finish # 9067 (14 years old) | 309 bottles | 53.5% alc. | RRP £75.00

The Whisky Cellar

Appearance

Quite a light gold in colour, with a nice thick swirl line and slow medium thick legs. #TheWhiskyCellar

Nose

This dram has a sweet/savoury/ foresty nose initially. Wood wax, tree bark, sweet raisins, with slight eucalyptus, someone has said guava, good call, and fudge again. #TheWhiskyCellar

Raspberry pastries, lemon bon bons, there’s an almost cider type sweetness, so green apple skins for me. #TheWhiskyCellar

Palate

Medium thick mouthfeel, and the palate is a proper fruit/spice bomb for me. A bag of starburst, fruit medley, then ginger, that cider ish note again too. Pomelo/grapefruit pith, bitter lemon, slight drying, and lemon sherbets. #TheWhiskyCellar

This is fair old palate, the strength is really nice. Seared pineapple now, toasted tea cakes, sweetened black coffee. #TheWhiskyCellar

Finish

Blackcurrant jam, plenty of oak, and it’s anaesthetised the roof of my mouth. Cocoa powder, high cocoa content dark chocolate, black syrup, someone said prunes, definitely, and still balanced between fruits and spices, quite long too. #TheWhiskyCellar

My thoughts

Am i a sucker for a Linkwood whisky? Most definitely yes. I will very happily try any that crosses my path to be honest, because i have not to date tasted a bad independently bottled version. When i opened the set that this sample came in, this Linkwood caught my eye first, oh happy day.

This Linkwood continues the run of great versions i have been lucky enough to taste. It is a fruit laden basket, that slowly develops from lighter fruits into darker fruits, and then onto chocolate and cocoa, with lovely balance. This is very much a dram i would purchase, i would very happily have one in my whisky cupboard.

A big thank you goes out to @whisky_cellar, @TweetTastings, and @TheWhiskyWire for letting me take part in the tasting this bottle was a part off. For transparency, this sample was sent to me free of charge, this in no way impacts on my review of it.