A Trio Of Whisky Barrel Exclusives [Linkwood 24 , Tobermory 20, Littlemill 26]

A while ago the lovely guys at The Whisky Barrel were kind enough to send me a few of their exclusive bottlings in the form of wee samples (cheers, guys!). Today I am going to review 3 of them : A Littelmill 1988 , Tobermory 1994, and Linkwood 1990 . The first one is an Old & Rare exclusive bottling for TWB, whereas the other two are bottled under the “Burns Malt” label that is the house label for indie bottlings for TWB. WB

Littlemill 26 Year Old / 1988-2015 / Single Cask Hogshead exclusive for The Whisky Barrel , 54.6% , £249littlemill-26-year-old-1988-old-rare

Nose : Sweet fragrant vanilla and malty creaminess. Red apple peel and some pear. Wood shavings and some Coconut.
Palate: A bit of alcohol burn on the palate at first which then gives way to apple, vanilla and wood with some pepper and cinnamon, quite creamy too.

Finish : spicy wood. Dry. Quite oaky

 

That’s a fine dram indeed, very good, with quite a bit of wood touches, for those who appreciate this sort of profile, I sure know I do. The only thing that bothers me is the price, which is quite steep for a 26 year old Indie. If you’re a fan of the style with deep pockets, you might want to consider this.

tobermory-20yo-burns-maltTobermory 20 Year Old 1994 Burns Malt , 51.1% , £53

Nose: Spicy wood and some wood spices as well as orange and oak. Dusty with a distant fruity note over ripe apple.

Palate: Sweeter than the nose with big vanilla and syrup. Sweet spiced wood. Cinnamon and caster sugar. Lovely wood profile. Pepper and honey ginger.

Finish :Spicy wood. Lemon.  creamy vanilla and milk chocolate.

 

Quite a surprise here, very nice stuff, and for under 60 quid, It’s really a steal IMHO. Go for it. well done guys.

 

linkwood-24yo-burns-maltLinkwood 24 Year Old 1990 Burns Malt , 51.7% , £64

Nose: Lovely nose with old wood and some  damp Dunnage warehouses. Vanilla and also a sour note, maybe balscamico…

Palate : Deep sweet and spicy. Wood spices and sweet syrup, touches of tobacco leaf, spices, and a sliver of citrus.

Finish :  Medium to Long, Citrus , oak.

 

If I had to pick one, it would be the Tobermory, which offers a solid profile, nice palate and nose, and something quite interesting for a very reasonable price under 60 quid. Any of these is quite well made, although the 26 year old could be a bit cheaper IMHO… (but you know supply and demand, they do their own magic).

 

Many thanks to the guys at TWB for the official samples

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