Linkwood New Make Spirit

Nose: Grass, banana, cereal, porridge, mint, ethanol. Palate: Sweet, oily and intense when neat from the still with a lip-tingling alcohol burn. No sourness. Much sweeter when diluted. Finish: Moderately long. Cereal fading to slightly off fruit. A standard Scottish new-make profile, although sweeter than some others I have tasted. Off the still this is too intense to enjoy but when tempered down to 40%abv or so it is eminently drinkable. In fact at that strength it is similar to jonge genever, and could easily be used in cocktails. I tasted the sample I took away neat, slightly diluted, and as a mixer with tonic water and it was delicious. It is fascinating how the grassy, tropical notes you notice on this are still present when it has matured into whisky, and particularly how some caskings can even enhance those qualities. Rating new make spirit is questionable because it can mutate dramatically through maturation. Glenfarclas, for example, is not particularly attractive as new make but once it has spent enough time in sherry wood it completely transforms. However this is very pleasant right off the bat. I rate them according to how well they work as reduced spirits for mixing. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)