Scotch Whisky Review #315 & 316: Single Cask Nation Linkwood 12 Year (2009) and Westport 16 Year (2005)
Bottler: Jewish Whisky Company
Scotch Whisky Review #315: Single Cask Nation Linkwood 12 Year (2009)
Distillery: Linkwood.
Region: Speyside.
Age: 12 Year. Distilled in April 2009 and Bottled in May 2021.
ABV: 55.5%. Cask Strength.
Cask Type: Refill Oloroso Sherry Butt
Cask Number: 4815162342
Price: $12 for a pour at Proof in Omaha, NE.
Color: 0.1, White Wine. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.
Nose: (according to the wife) It’s quite floral, almost like sticking your nose in a bunch of floral scented beauty products. Acacia wood is a big note as well. Some cucumber mint water, a hint of Stevia, and some malt barley round this out.
Palate: It needs a ton of water to get going, it’s quite hot at full strength. Once it does start opening up, you get a ton of floral tea notes. Chamomile and lily tea along with white tea make up the most dominant notes. You get a spritz of lemon water as well with a hint of ginger. There’s a bit of warm malt and a touch of baking spice to keep things interesting.
Finish: Short, it’s nice and clean with some white tea and baking spices.
Conclusion: Linkwood is definitely one of my favorite distilleries and this pick by the Single Cask Nation folks is a fantastic one. From start to finish are these lovely floral notes, they’re not overpowering or perfume-like in the slightest but rather far more on the floral tea side of the world. It results in a tasty and refreshing dram. It’s perfect to have in the summer heat. Would I buy a bottle? Were I not on a bottle buying moratorium, yes.
Final Score: 82.
Scotch Whisky Review #316: Single Cask Nation Westport 16 Year (2005)
Distillery: Glenmorangie.
Region: Highland.
Age: 16 Year. Distilled in May 2005 and Bottled in May 2021.
ABV: 50.6%. Cask Strength.
Cask Type: 2nd Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt
Cask Number: 2112
Price: $33.75 for a pour at Proof in Omaha, NE.
Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.
Nose: (according to the wife) “Oh it smells so good!” It’s fruity with a ton of strawberry jam and some nectarines. Beeswax and a bit of spice pop in here and there.
Palate: It’s rather warm, but not unpleasantly so. Malt is front and center here along with a bit of honey. There’s an earthy funk to this that reminds me a lot of the mushroom-y notes that I found in the Glenmorangie Allta but not as nicely done as it was there. Even with water added, it never seems to evolve past the malt, dash of honey, and mushroom water funk.
Finish: Rather short. It’s spicy with a lot of oak. The malt, honey, and funk combo continues to linger as well.
Conclusion: It isn’t every day you see an independent bottling of Glenmorangie so I was really, really excited to try this one (so much so that I didn’t even ask the barman how much it was before ordering it). The nose teases this fruit packed fun whisky with the absolutely delicious notes of strawberry jam and nectarines. Unfortunately, the rest of this whisky never comes even close to living up to that opening salvo of notes. Whether it’s because my palate was off, the bottle was fairly fresh, or some combination of a dozen things, this Glenmorangie never took off for me. It was dominated by this combination of malt, honey, and mushroom funk. While it made for pleasant drinking, it just came off as a worse version of Glenmorangie’s own Allta from a few years ago. Perhaps I need to revisit it on another day, but as it stands, I left quite disappointed.
Final Score: 74.
Scotch Whisky Review #315 & 316, Speyside Review #119, Highland Review #58, Whisky Network Review #457 & 458
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.
Scotch & Sheen 
