Linkwood 2011/2026 - 15 y.o. - 1st Fill Ribera del Duero Barrique #450 (The Old Friends)

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 56.1% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

A Spanish red wine cask shapes this single-cask bottling from Linkwood. Distilled in February 2011, the Single Malt matured in a First Fill Ribera del Duero Barrique and was bottled in August 2026 at 15 years old. Cherries, red grapes and black tea combine with delicate sugar sweetness and gentle spice.

Cask 450/2011 yielded 430 bottles, each containing 0.7 litres at 56.1% alcohol. The whisky was neither chill-filtered nor coloured. The label depicts King Arthur and Merlin, bringing together courage and wisdom.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: A sweet impression of black tea combines on the nose with a light, dry red-wine note. Cherries, bright red fruit and a subtle raspberry accent complete the aromas. The fruit becomes progressively more pronounced.
• Palate: A delicate Demerara-sugar sweetness accompanies dried fruit at first. Dark cherries and red grapes follow, with a rich black-tea note emerging afterwards. Well-integrated alcohol gives the palate a smooth, rounded feel.
• Finish: The medium-length finish sees the fruit recede slowly, leaving gentle spice and a delicate sweetness that lingers.

Distillery/Bottler:

Linkwood lies south of Elgin in Scotland’s Speyside region. Peter Brown founded the distillery, initially as an addition to his farm. Much of its whisky goes into Blended Scotch, while single-cask bottlings offer a separate perspective on its malt.

The Old Friends is the work of Michel Reick, also known as Whisky Druid. Following Best Dram in 2014 and Scotch Universe in 2016, he launched this further bottling range in 2018. For this Linkwood, The Old Friends presents whisky from a single wine cask; it was distilled at Linkwood, then matured and bottled in Scotland.

Facts: