Batch 207

Initially there’s some dry glue and the crystallised remnants found at the bottom of a honey jar. Slightly brittle, with lemon leaf and lime blossom, before things move towards a pollen-filled mown meadow and ripe melon. It remains sweet and floral when water is added, along with the smell of a new book, tangerine, banana and then a slight sappiness.

This is fairly brisk and buzzy (forgive me), thanks to the higher strength. Those high-toned citric elements are to the fore, along with green grassiness, flower honey and carnations. Water settles things down and turns what is a slightly aggressive finish into perky ginger elements.

A touch of green apple. Just a little raw.

Fresh and lively, but at times maybe just a little too edgy.

Slowly drawn towards the Beehive.

Big and juicy, becoming fruity with strawberry jam, green plum and tinned pear and Linkwood’s blossom-like element, all contrasted by this violet crème chocolate mixture. In time, that distillery fragrance comes through more clearly, while water triggers an explosion of oxidised elements from the Sherry – almond and waxy floor polish. Odd, but strangely likeable.

A slightly soapy start, which then opens to palate-coating rich fruit, dried cranberry and cherry, then goji berry, with some cooked apple coming in underneath. In time, you get apricot, then sumac and thyme. The same thing happens when you add water – out comes the Sherry, now with added linseed oil.

Herbal and slightly drying.

It is Linkwood… just not as you know it.

Lying ’neath the Pink Cherry Trees.

Now this is odd. I could swear that initially this smelled of baked beans (admittedly cannellini beans in homemade tomato sauce), before it seems to straighten out to a richly sweet and more classical aroma of caramel cedar wood, and a French polisher’s workshop. When water is added, things become slightly better-defined, but still wood-driven: boot polish (dark tan) overripe fruit, tomato skin and hoof glue.

A thick and syrupy opening, with some ripe melon (even with a little bitter skin), then coffee grounds. Dark, ripe fruits dominate, with some fenugreek and raisins in the background, but it is oddly lacking in shape. Water brings out red wine and cherry, but it flops when it should be accelerating.

Fat and wooded.

Flumps on the palate like a fat white cat landing on your stomach. Comforting, but flabby.

Sitting down to a mess of Pork and Beans.

Has a distinct coastal quality (sailing past seaweed-slathered rocks), then some grassiness that’s surprising for its age. In time you get rapeseed oil, barbecued pineapple and gentle smoke. Water brings out green kindling water, hints of cut flowers, neroli, more smoke and a light yeasty quality.

It shifts from sea and shore to land. Now there’s pork products sizzling over coals, before the estery elements start to reveal themselves. It then makes a sudden left-hand turn into salty liquorice, peppery olive oil and lime zest, before the mineral salts return. Water adds tutti-frutti, banana, melon and smoke.

Mature; gently-smoked meat and bog myrtle.

Elegant and sophisticated.

Watching the tide Ebb and Flow.

Big and mature. The peat (still present after all this time) is now phenolic and oily rather than overtly smoky, while the fruit is still there at this age. The combination is like walking into an artist’s studio, where she is painting a still life of tropical fruits: linseed oil, paint, primed canvas, mango, guava, quince and pineapple. In time you get more (old) leather and peaches, with the phenols still softly leaning in.

It’s quite dry to start with as the oak starts to press in, but there’s still an exotic mixture of sweet oak, rose petal, barberry, sandalwood and tonka bean, with the phenols wholly integrated. The low strength means that it might lack muscle, but it has delicacy and balance on its side. Best neat.

Slightly drying. Dill, carrot tops, bay leaf, smoke.

Wisdom rather than brute force. 

Distilled memories from Long Ago and Far Away.

There’s a little smoky wood in the background, giving a charcoal-like effect, alongside fudge, date and raisin. Although it starts slightly hard and firm, it then mellows with touches of almost meaty depth, then Sherried elements. Steadily, it grows on you. Water adds in some peachiness, and a mix of muesli and more of a funked-up feel.

There’s some sweet chestnut and a richer depth than you might imagine from the nose (and the colour), mixing sultana, sponge cake and sweet dried fruits. Dilution brings out damp sand and a humid scent of oak and toffee. Sweet and rich.

Long and gentle.

Lovely balance. Well worth a look.

Miss Congeniality.