Last series I did was Hyde, it made me want to hide from whisky. This Lindores juice has me amped up. Three in and it has been getting really good. Number four now and this bottling is part of the ‘Casks of Lindores Series’. These series bottlings are designed to highlight the Lindores spirit with three differently treated casks. Here the ex-Bourbon barrels used in maturation which were sourced from Old Forrester are highlighted. “The first Casks of Lindores bottling featured exclusively bourbon barrels, one of the three core cask types used at Lindores, and was limited to 11,000 bottles. We believe that the Lindores spirit goes extremely well with bourbon casks and helps showcase its early maturing characteristic. The very long wash fermentation period in our Douglas fir washbacks, coupled with our Sister Spirit stills distillation helps create a spirit that matures early but we also believe will continue to develop over time.” N: Scrumpy cider is wrapped in crisp buttery malt-biscuit with some coconut, banana, and a fresh bale of straw. This nose is simple, clean, and crisp. P: Full bodied and lively. There is a zingy alcohol presence like the new make but it drives home crisp flaky pastry, wood spice, peaches and cream fruit notes and plenty of pear with just a touch of sour gooseberry. Richness is delivered by toffee and bitterness from a subtle hint of mocha. F: Medium-long. Drying oak tannin, peppery and cinnamon spice and butteriness. The central malt theme here is what this bottling is all about. There is a semblance of getting all the flaky bits of pastry out the bottom of a bag of freshly baked croissants. The original new make is recognised in the alcohols vibrancy and pear that underly the palate. The finish perhaps leans slightly spicy and tannic, but the expression is clear and demonstrates bourbon cask influence well. Is it the best bourbon cask out there, no; but its a good expression of what does into the more complex MCDXCIV. Distiller whisky taste #183 [Pictured here with a red soapstone, or “steatite” from Shetland. A soapstone is a talc dominant rock formed from hydrous metamorphism of ultramafic (mantle) rocks. Usually white or greenish, this one is red from iron alteration. On Shetland the soapstones are part of an ophiolite (section of oceanic crust) thrust up onto the continent 420-350 million years ago] New make: 3.25/5
Aqua Vitae Small Batch: 3.5/5 MCDXCIV: 4/5 Bourbon cask: 3.5/5