Nose: Grass, vanilla, lime, honey, lots of stewed black tea. With water there is diluted honey and tropical fruit salad from a tin. Palate: Very grassy and herbal, pine resin, honey-water, bitter orange marmalade, and with water there is some oak tannin and tropical fruit. The texture is good but not remarkable. Finish: Medium. Honey, fruit and vanilla. A slightly off-kilter malt for me, but it was well-liked at the tasting. It was very tight when neat but just a drop of water seemed to over-dilute it. Maybe it needed a longer time to recompose than I could give it but I thought the distillate and the wood were fighting and there was definitely a sour note that became bitter and intrusive with water. At the same time there was little indication of sherry influence. Still, a nice Linkwood, but certainly not the best I’ve had and frankly not up to the quality level of the OB Flora and Fauna 12 year old. Not available for sale, this was a distillery exclusive tasting. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)