Linkwood 12 Year Flora & Fauna

Nose: light and floral, fresh apples and pears, pleasant. Palate: whisky I would say very simple, which is certainly not negative: it confirms what is felt on the nose, but here the fruit (apples and pears) predominates. Very light and delicate, but at the same time thick and oily. Final: I would have expected a very short finish, in reality the bulk ends immediately to leave room for a feeling of velvety warmth that instead lasts a long time. Without doubt one of the best Flora & Fauna: simple but at the same time pleasant. Rating 4.00 _____________________________________________________ Naso: leggero e floreale, mele e pere fresche, piacevole. Palato: whisky direi molto semplice, cosa che non è certo negativa: conferma quanto avvertito al naso, ma qui la frutta (mele e pere) predomina. Molto leggero e delicato, ma allo stesso tempo denso ed oleoso. Finale: mi sarei aspettato un finale molto breve, in realtà il grosso finisce subito per lasciare spazio ad una sensazione di calore vellutato che invece dura a lungo. Senza dubbio uno dei migliori Flora & Fauna: semplice ma allo stesso tempo piacevole. Voto 4,00

The second spur of the moment purchase at Lagavulin because it was the first time I’d ever seen it and also because I was maybe still a little tipsy from my Laphroaig tasting (see also - Blair Athol 12 F&F). Nose is green apples. Full stop. Nothing else. Root around a little deeper and the alcohol kills the scent with nothing else gained. Let it sit for 20 minutes and now there’s light cereal grains, like a box of grape nuts held at arms length or meusli without the fruit. It’s not great, but neither is it bad. Palate is light and moderately creamy. It’s fruity sweet, but there are no individually discernable fruits; kind of like a public school fruit salad minus the cherry. Carries the sweet almost to the end before oakiness jumps in to turn things dry, leaving a pleasant tingle lingering on the gums for a few seconds. Tasted blind I would think this was Irish instead of Scotch. Consider this a more expensive, less available, slightly refined alternative to Glenlivet 12, or a more expensive, less available, less refined alternative to Knappogue Castle 10,

Nose: Light and grassy, white grape juice, vanilla, pear. There is a sweet but somehow savoury tropical aroma but it’s not heavy like mango or banana. I think pineapple bubblegum is the best way I can describe it, but it’s a furtive aroma. Palate: Sweet but light and crisp like a chilled white wine and there are vanilla, malt, beeswax and lychee flavours as well. A little mixed tropical fruit shows through but less than I remember from previous batches. The texture is waxy and creamy, and a touch oily. Finish: Medium. Cold black tea, pineapple bubblegum again and lychee as the finale. A very pleasant style of whisky. Linkwood is always crisp and grassy and the tropical notes are always there regardless of the casking, but this expression does seem a little more conservative than previous batches. It’s a sweet whisky but crisp, and a great summertime dram. Tasted at the distillery from a 2024 batch. “Good” 83/100 (3.5 stars)

I'm with Joe C on this one. Another great F&F offering. I really enjoy this range as I feel the distillers craft the bottlings in a way that usually represents the distillery well unlike a lot of the IB's. There was almost white wine like nose flavours, reisling perhaps. On the palate lovely viscous honey, and sweet butterscotch. I think the trick to these offerings as you really need to let them sit and open up a bit with time and or a few drops of water. It progressively got better and the bitterness faded into the background. Solid 4 I'll give it.

It's a tragedy this whisky is so difficult to come by, because the liquid is delicious. There's honey and heather, with touches of almonds and wood spices. It's delicate yet complex, and it makes a great single malt. If you can get your hands on this, I recommend you do. And add the Dailuaine 16 to your cart while you're at it.

Nose: Green grapes, banana, creamy malty butterscotch Palate: Plums, oranges, pears, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg Finish: Ginger, black pepper, honey roasted nuts Friendly but not a pushover. Sweet but not too gentle.