Review by: dustbunna

---

Distillery: Linkwood.

Bottler: Elixir Distillers Ltd.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 48%.

Age: 13 years. Distilled in 2008. Bottled in 2021.

Cask type: 3 bourbon barrels vatted together.

Price: $85 USD.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 6 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point.

---

Nose: fruity and estery, fresh flowers, dried apples, malt, salt, cut stems.

Palate: medium body ~ very strongly floral and fruity on arrival, pears, magnolia blossoms, gardenia, more cut stems, melon candy, bubblegum.

Finish: medium length ~ floral notes continue with some dusty cereal.

---

Conclusion: This US-exclusive release from SMoS I picked up alongside their 7-year-old Laphroaig, both as a roll of the dice, and both turned out to be winners. This is very summery whisky, especially beautiful on the nose and palate. Linkwoods often give me this archetypal Speyside fruit+flowers profile, but somehow everything I’ve had from the distillery just elevates that profile to something special— this is one of the better ones I’ve tasted, and what keeps me coming back is the intensity of flavors. It’s bright, fresh, and fun to drink to keep the winter chill at bay when I’m not in the mood for heavily brooding peat or sherry.

Final Score: 86.

---

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.