Scotch Whisky Review #183: Signatory Vintage Linkwood 13 Year Fresh Sherry Cask Finish (2006)

Distillery: Linkwood

Bottler: Signatory Vintage

Region: Speyside

Price: Many thanks to /u/bradbobaggins for letting me try this one!

ABV: 58.4% Cask Strength

Cask Type: Initial maturation in bourbon hogshead, finished in fresh sherry butt for 3 months.

Age: 13 Year. Distilled Dec. 5th 2006, Bottled Feb. 11th 2020.

Color: 1.8, Old Oak. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

Nose: (according to the wife) There’s a lot of wood in the nose and not all of it is oak along with lots of wood varnish. The sherry comes through as well a tad but its mostly wood and varnish.

Palate: It’s fairly rich with some very deep sherry notes. It starts off fairly dark with sangria fruits along with some brown butter caramel. Towards the end, it brightens up a bit with fresh cherries and a hint of cotton candy grapes. The mouthfeel is nice an velvety throughout.

Finish: Medium in length. The cherry note continues and is joined by some wood varnish. Every few sips, a bit of oak spice appears as well.

Conclusion: It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to try a Linkwood and it does not disappoint whatsoever. This dram starts off deep and dark with lots of wood varnish and rich sherry notes before brightening up with some cherries and cotton candy grapes making for a really fun experience. The sangria fruits and brown butter caramel that exist in between are fantastic as well. Would I buy a bottle? Yes.

Final Score: 85.

Scotch Whisky Review #183, Speyside Review #77, Whisky Network Review #251

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.