Linkwood 2014/2026 - 12 y.o. - Palo Cortado Cask Finish #7650437 - The Octave (Duncan Taylor)

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 54.6% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This twelve-year-old Speyside single malt combines Linkwood’s fruity character with a finish in a small Palo Cortado octave cask. The whisky was distilled on 3 February 2014 and bottled from cask 7650437 on 25 June 2026 for Duncan Taylor’s The Octave range. The small cask format promotes intense interaction between the whisky and the wood; here, the finish complements the ripe orchard fruit with dry sherry notes, toasted nuts and spicy oak.

This single-cask release comprises just 84 bottles. It was bottled at its natural cask strength of 54.6%, with no added colouring and without chill filtration. This preserves the concentrated fruit, dry Palo Cortado influence and robust oak spice in their unaltered form.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Ripe apple and pear mingle with honey, vanilla and a delicate citrus note on the nose. Dry sherry, nuts and oak provide spicy accents in the background.
• Palate: The whisky is concentrated and layered on the palate. Dried fruit meets caramel and toffee, accompanied by spicy oak, a dry sherry influence and a gently nutty note.
• Finish: The finish is long, combining toasted nuts and dry oak with malt sweetness and a soft echo of toffee.

Distillery/Bottler:

Linkwood Distillery stands on the outskirts of Elgin in Speyside. Peter Brown founded it in 1821, and production began four years later. The distillery remained in the Brown family until the end of the 19th century and became part of Scottish Malt Distillers, now part of Diageo, in 1933. A second distillery with four stills was built alongside the older plant in 1971. The original operation, later known as Linkwood A, ceased regular production in 1985, and its buildings were demolished in 2012.

Duncan Taylor is a family-owned independent bottler whose roots lie in the Glasgow trade and brokerage of Scotch whisky casks. The company moved its headquarters to Huntly in 2014, where it has its own facilities for cask storage, cooperage and bottling. For The Octave range, Duncan Taylor selects small casks whose intensive wood contact further shapes the whisky’s flavour, character and complexity.

Facts: