Linkwood 1974-2000 - 26 Year Old - Signatory Vintage - Single Cask 6572

Linkwood is a large Speyside distillery making top class single malt whisky for owner Diageo’s portfolio of blends. Such is Linkwood’s importance to the blending industry that very little of its production is officially released, with only the mediocre Flora & Fauna edition and one horribly overpriced Special Release appearing in the last decade or so.

Much more rewarding are the terrific Rare Malts editions of Linkwood bottled from 1995-2005, all from 1970s vintages that showcase the distillery’s fantastically pure spirit style to great effect. There have also been numerous outstanding long-aged Linkwoods by Gordon & MacPhail, who were licensed bottlers of Linkwood for many years and have bottled the oldest Linkwoods yet released, the Private Collection editions from 1953 and 1956, both of which were over 60 years old.

Signatory Vintage Whisky Company was founded by Andrew Symington in 1988 after a spell as assistant manager at the Prestonfield House Hotel, where he had the opportunity to buy a cask of Glenlivet 1968. A robust and canny businessman, Symington had soon acquired some outstanding parcels of casks from great distilleries, and quickly established a reputation among single malt fans for good value, high quality single casks, the majority of which were released at full strength.

Throughout the 1990s and beyond, Signatory released outstanding whisky from Ardbeg, Glenfarclas, Springbank and many more, with frequently remarkable examples of lost or obscure distilleries. Soon established as one of the leading new wave independent bottlers, Symington was also an early exponent of bottling whiskies without colouring or chill filtration, a policy that has also served Signatory well at their Edradour distillery, which was purchased in 2002.