Buy Linkwood Whisky

Is Linkwood a working distillery?

Linkwood is an active Scottish distillery and produces whisky for blends in the Diageo network. It is an industrial unit rather than a distillery that tourists or whisky fans might visit. 

What whisky region is Linkwood Distillery in?

Linkwood is a Speyside distillery. It’s located in the town of Elgin in the north of Speyside. Glen Moray distillery is also located in Elgin. 

Is there a visitor centre at Linkwood distillery?

There is no visitor centre or tours available at Linkwood Distillery. It is owned by Diageo and operates as one of their workhorse production units creating whisky for Diageo’s Johnnie Walker and White Horse blends among others.  

Is Linkwood a family-owned distillery?

Linkwood has been owned by Diageo since the late 1990s. It was set up in 1821 by the Brown family and they remained in ownership throughout the 19th century, eventually being bought by Scottish Malted Distillers in the 1930s and ownership transferred to United distillers in 1986. In the 1990s ownership of United distillers merged with Diageo which now operates each of its distilleries.

Where can I buy Linkwood whisky?

Linkwood doesn’t release a lot of whisky under its own label. Much of its output is used for blending Diageo’s other whisky products, such as Johnnie Walker. It has featured in Diageo’s Flora & Fauna special releases series but other than that it is easiest to obtain through third party independent bottlers. A number of bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory and The Boutique-y Whisky Company produce Linkwood bottles. You can find them in specialist online retailers such as The Single Malt Shop  and others.       

Which are the best-known Linkwood bottles from Indy producers?

Gordon & MacPhail have a long-standing relationship with Linkwood and have released the largest number of bottles of their whisky. They are also located in the town of Elgin and close neighbours of the distillery. Gordon & MacPhail bottle a range of outstanding Linkwood vintages, including whisky from 1971, 1988 and the 1990s. Their oldest bottling is the 1971 release which is part of their Private Collection. This 50-year-old whisky is considered to be one of the finest examples of a Speyside vintage single malt release. 

What does Linkwood whisky taste like?

Linkwood produces single malt whisky that is often matured in ex-bourbon and refill American Hogshead. Gordon & MacPhail’s 1971 Linkwood Vintage is a fine example of what the distillery can produce. It is a dark amber single malt whisky bottled at 42.4%. A single cask release, it spent five decades in American Hogshead and only 166 bottles were released. It’s a truly rare item and highly sought after by collectors since Diageo’s grip on the distillery’s output means that it’s very hard to find anything similar.  It’s almost guaranteed to increase in value overcoming the years. 

Linkwood produces whisky that is fruit forward with a strong sherry influence. In general, it has a sweet and spicy taste with plenty of oak influence.

Its producers describe its aroma as delivering red apple with orange zest and sweet honey. Lots of vanilla is also present alongside more citrus notes. On the palate you can expect more fruit as well as tobacco and salt leading to along and luxurious finish with lots of tropical fruit and roasted nuts. 

Diageo’s own bottling of 12-year-old Linkwood in its Flora and Fauna series offers a mere accessible bottle of fine Linkwood single malt. This 43% distillery bottling was very well received on release and brings lots of vanilla, fruit and spice on the nose, followed by caramel, cinnamon and oak on the palate. It’s a really good example of a 12-year-old Speyside.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company bottle an 11-year-old batch of Linkwood in their comic-book fronted range. Bottled at 51.2% they say, in their light-hearted way, that its aroma comes with layers of apple pie, vanilla ice-cream and cinnamon. The palate delivers butterscotch, malt loaf and milk chocolate leading to a medium finish peppered with spice and banoffee pie.

Which is the oldest Linkwood whisky released?

The oldest Linkwood currently on sale is the 50-Year-0ld 1971 vintage. This single cask release from Gordon & MacPhail has been described by Scottish whisky writer Charlie MacLean as “a gorgeous old whisky with all the complexity that only advanced age in a good cask. A haughty dowager duchess of a whisky – noble and impeccable.” He scored it 94/100 on his points system.

Is Linkwood a Speyside distillery?

Yes, Linkwood was founded in Speyside in 1821. It uses water from the local Milbules Spring in the town of Elgin in Scotland and produces 3.5 million litres of whisky per year. Most of this goes towards Diageo blends rather than individual bottlings so it has become very rare and usually only available from independent bottlers. It is one of more than 50 distilleries in Speyside although lessor known among whisky fans as it does not operate a visitor facility. It is an industrial complex that produces whisky for its owner Diageo. 

Who created Linkwood Distillery?

Linkwood was set up in in 1821 by a businessman called Peter Brown. He ran the distillery until his death in 1868 and the distillery remained in the Brown family until the end of the 19th century.  The original distillery was demolished in 1874 by his son and a new distillery built on the same site. It changed hands a number of times before coming into the ownership of Diageo who use it primarily to produce whisky for their various Scotch blends.