Finn Thomson, not to be confused with the ThomPson brothers, but also a bottler of Scotch whisky. In sort-of fancy hexagonal bottles (or was is an octagon?). Anyway, the bottle came in a tube similarly ‘gonal’, which made the tube surprisingly flimsy, but with enough bubble-wrap things were A-Okay.

This one was recommended to me at the Hielander Whisky Festival by whisky buddy MD. Before the weekend was over, I had placed an order for one. This one is a belter, and it seems more and more like Linkwood is on a roll with whiskies distilled around 2010 (looking at Dram Mor, Michiel Wigman, this one). I never had more Linkwood in my collection that this year!

Anyway, based on the color of the booze I wouldn’t have guessed it came from a bourbon cask, although there’s no reddish hue to it. Based on the flavor of it, things are different.

Sniff:
Slightly beery with a green and leafy herbaceousness. Lots of grain and wood. A hint of vanilla, milky caramel and Bounty bars in the background.

Sip:
The palate is intense but not too hot. Slightly syrupy with caramel and a chocomate milk fattiness. A dry note of coconut, barley and oak shavings. Ever so slightly green with herbs, ferns and old fashioned (English) hops.

Swallow:
The finish shows a bit more vanilla, caramel and barley. Although that barley is becoming a bit more pastry like, like poundcake, rich and buttery.

What a dram… This one blew quite a few more expensive whiskies out of the water at the festival, and at home it was a fan favorite as well. Me being the fan, obviously. It’s not often that I go through half a bottle of whisky this fast (the other half was bottle-shared) but this one is already empty! I guess that says enough, but in a proper review kind of way: The herbal flavors work really well with this whisky. I’m not always a fan of that, but this one reminded me of very old fashioned English IPAs like you rarely find anymore. The caramel adds a nice sweetness with the alcohol keeping said sweetness in check. Very highly recommended!

89/100 (still considering 90 points)