Linkwood Distillery — Speyside Single Malt Whisky

Linkwood Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located near Elgin, Speyside, Scotland. It was founded in 1821 and is currently owned by Diageo. Its light, delicate, fruity new-make spirit has made it one of the most prized "top-dressing" malts among blenders, even though official single malt bottlings remain scarce.

History

Linkwood was built in 1821 by Peter Brown, though production did not begin until 1825, once the 1823 Excise Act made legal, licensed distilling commercially viable. The distillery originally had a capacity of around 4,500 litres a year and drew its water from springs near Millbuies Loch. James Walker managed the site until Brown's death in 1868, after which his son William Brown took control and, working with architect Charles Doig's associate Methven, rebuilt the distillery between 1872 and 1873.

In 1898 the business was floated as the Linkwood-Glenlivet Distillery Company. Innes Cameron joined as managing director in 1902 and remained a dominant figure in the distillery's affairs for three decades, reportedly refusing to allow any structural alteration during his tenure out of a belief that even minor changes would alter the character of the spirit. The company later passed into the hands of Scottish Malt Distillers and then The Distillers Company, the corporate lineage that eventually became Diageo.

Linkwood was mothballed during the Second World War (1941–1945) due to barley shortages, and again between 1985 and 1990 amid a wider industry downturn, before a partial restart. In 1971 a second, larger distillery (Linkwood B) was built alongside the original stillhouse (Linkwood A), and by 2008 Diageo had returned the site to full production. Today Linkwood remains primarily a workhorse distillery, supplying malt for blends such as Johnnie Walker, with official single malt releases largely confined to Diageo's Flora & Fauna and Special Releases ranges, alongside more frequent independent bottlings.

Quick Facts

• Region: Speyside
• Founded: 1821
• Owner: Diageo
• Status: Active
• Stills: 3 wash stills and 3 spirit stills, split across two stillhouses (Linkwood A and B)

Core Range

Official bottlings of Linkwood are rare. The best-known is the Linkwood 12 Year Old from Diageo's Flora & Fauna series (43% ABV), alongside occasional Rare Malts and Special Releases vintage expressions (26- and 30-year-old editions have appeared in the past). Independent bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail and Signatory produce the majority of Linkwood single malt seen on the market.