Linkwood 2006 Aged 14 Years Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Infrequent Flyers (Alistair Walker) (700ml)

Linkwood 2006 Aged 14 Years Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Infrequent Flyers (Alistair Walker) (700ml)

Volume: 700ml           ABV: 54.0%           Age: 14 Years Old          Country: Scotland

Cask: 6144
Date of Distilling: 2006
Date of Bottling: 2020
Matured In: a Virgin Oak Barrel
Un-Chillfiltered

Independent bottlers, have been around for a many years. They source whiskies from different distilleries throughout Scotland and around the world, and using their experience bottle them as single casks. These whiskies are then presented in their most natural form which includes no chill filtering, bottling at natural colour, and more options at cask strength. Established in 2008 The Alistair Walker Company is based in Grangemouth in Central Scotland. Alistair has almost 20 years experience in the whisky industry and is not affiliated to any one distillery. Alistair’s career in the whisky industry began in January 1997, at Burn Stewart Distillers in a sales and marketing role for over six years. At that time Burn Stewart was the custodian of two single malt distilleries – Deanston and Tobermory. In October 2004, he joined The BenRiach Distillery Company, and remained with them for over twelve years, until the business was eventually sold. This was a new-start business, that had been set up in 2004 following the acquisition, by three entrepreneurs, of the BenRiach Distillery from Pernod Ricard. In addition to BenRiach, Alistair also had the good fortune to work with the GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh Distilleries, with BenRiach having acquired GlenDronach in 2008, and then Glenglassaugh in 2013. In 2018, Alistair found himself on hiatus, and contemplating what to do next. Keen to be his own boss and also wishing to remain in the whisky sector, he decided to venture into the exciting world of independent bottling. Making the move from distillery to independent bottler is very much a case of ‘gamekeeper turned poacher’. Fortunately, independent bottling is a vibrant category at present; as more and more whisky enthusiasts are seeking out single cask bottlings and whisky releases that are a little different, somewhat unique, and often from less familiar distilleries.

The whiskies the are bottled under the brand name ‘Infrequent Flyers’. That name refers to the nature of many of the casks that are bottled – often whiskies from lesser-known distilleries that are of excellent quality, but have never been widely or consistently available. As such, many of the bottlings are of whiskies that you just don’t see so often – hence the name ‘Infrequent Flyers’.

The Linkwood Distillery was established in 1821, but only started production in 1824. Owner Peter Brown was the manager of the Linkwood Estate and wisely kept his nose clean until the 1823 Excise Act was on the stature book. The distillery was rebuilt in 1874 and was run as an independent distillery up until 1932 where is joined DCL, now Diageo. It has remained in production ever since, with regular upgrades taking place, most significantly in 1972 when a new distillery was built opposite the old buildings. The owners ran both distilleries until 1985 when the original distillery was used as an experimental site. The capacity of the distillery is now around 5.5 million litres per annum.

This independent bottling has been sourced from the Linkwood Distillery where it was distilled in 2006. It was then placed in Virgin Oak Barrel and left to mature for 14 years. It was bottled at 54.0% abv in 2020. 1 of only 208 bottles produced.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Gingerbread men, buttery with some fresh crushed nuts, vanilla and salted pretzels.

Palate: Orchard fruits, oak spice with vanilla custard and some peppery spice.

Finish: Dolly mixtures, polished oak and freshly cooked doughnuts.