Linkwood – 1966/2022 56 Year Old 1st Fill Sherry Cask #789 Gordon & MacPhail The Dram Takers Collection (70cl, 54.1%)

A Speyside single malt from Linkwood, distilled in 1966 and matured for 56 years in a first fill sherry hogshead. Gordon & MacPhail bottled it in 2022 at 54.1%, in a 70cl bottle, without colouring or chill-filtration. It belongs to The Dram Takers series, whose design draws on the illustration of the Book of Kells, the medieval manuscript, in a motif of two figures raising a glass together. The nose offers stewed raisins and plums, aged leather, toffee with dark sugar syrup, dark chocolate and blood orange. The palate moves from tart raspberry and demerara sugar to soft liquorice, then dried tobacco, Brazil nut and gentle oak tannins. The finish is long and spicy, with grapefruit.