Part 2 of Reviews from La Maison du Whisky Singapore
Review by: Whiskery Turnip
One of my formative whisky experiences occurred at the La Maison du Whisky hub in Singapore. I was just getting into scotch and had developed a keen interest in Amrut while traveling to India for my sister-in-law’s wedding. My wife and I made a stopover at LMDW and ordered a flight each with help from the staff. As we chatted whisky with the bartender, and we knew very little at the time so I recall the conversation being him asking if we had tried lots of stuff and us replying no, bottles started to appear in front of us. I had never been to a whisky bar before, but the experience was revelatory; from an epic early Amrut Spectrum to a Hanyu, I had no idea how special some of those whiskies were until much later.
Whenever we return to Singapore, we make a pit stop at LMWD. The last time we made it by was 2019; at the time, it felt as though the whisky selection had been trimmed down quite a bit. Four years later, the amount of rum is now staggering, but the whisky selection felt much improved. Sure, old and rare stuff is not just going to magically reappear. Still, the variety of bottlers and casks available appeared more diverse. As we explored our flight, we gazed at the walls of whisky and found plenty more to try on another night.
Distillery: Linkwood
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Region: Scotland/Speyside Single Malt
ABV: 54.6%. Cask strength.
Age: 25 years. Distilled on 1 March 1996.
Cask type: Refill Sherry Butt
Price: $30/20ml at LMDW Singapore
Nose: Intensely sherried, polished wood, dried fruits and berries, hints of candied nuts, candied citrus, treacle, rum raisin, maple syrup with hints of vanilla, fruit syrup.
Palate: Medium to full-bodied, pecan, roasted hazelnuts, dried fruits, polished wood, leather, herbal old tobacco, cigar box, subtle menthol.
Finish: Medium to long and drying with menthol, old paper, and dried fruit.
Mental Image: Pancakes in the Bath
Conclusion: With an intensely sherry-driven flavor profile, this Linkwood was rich and well-balanced. Linkwood is not at the top of the list of distilleries I seek out, and while I might typically veto something like this in a lineup, I was ready to roll the dice on something outside my usual preferences. Despite the refill sherry butt maturation, I found the sherry influence dominant over the more subtle herbal notions of the malt. Sherry-bombs may not be my style any more than Linkwood usually is, but this was an above-average example of the style with loads of nuttiness and tobacco complexity. Despite the heady cask, the mouthfeel was never overly tannic, bitter, or drying and maintained a lovely balance across the palate.
The missus rated this higher than I expected her to, though she found an element of nostalgia amongst the flavors as she described the fruit syrups her dad would make with whatever extra fruits they had around. She described it as an intensely breakfast whisky— right at home next to maple syrup and pancakes. She thought the oily texture was ideal for a bath-time scotch; perhaps breakfast in the bath?
Final Score: 80.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 