Lindores Abbey - Abbey Whisky Exclusive

Cask #180591, 59.5%, Oloroso Sherry Butt

Another exciting & exclusive release to come out of the doors of Abbey Whisky. This time, they've gone into the warehouses of the Lindores Abbey Distillery in Fife and put their dibs on an Oloroso Sherry Butt that was full of some Lindores liquid.

Let's be honest here - for me, when a bottle has Abbey Whisky's stamp of approval on it, I am generally happy to buy blindly without even tasting it first. That's trust, and a doff of the cap to their legacy of impeccable cask selection.

Appearance: Dark honey. Thin oily legs.

Nose: Chocolate-covered raisins with an additional sprinkling of grated milk chocolate. The higher ABV is apparent here as some of that alcohol heat rises out of the glass and tickles the nose. But with the high ABV, more flavour is carried with it - creamy coconut, gingerbread biscuits, sweet soy sauce, and all the while, a deep undertone of sherry and a beautiful whiff of a muted dunnage funkiness! The dunnage-funk has a note reminiscent of a certain Campbeltown distillery.

I can also see the strong relationship and familiar style to the "The Casks of Lindores" bottle that appeared recently.

Palate: Chocolate sweetness with a gentle pepper crackle. The chocolate tone now turns to a definite Nutella hazelnut chocolate spread note. A slight sourness appears with some drying woodiness, but this switches back to an oily sweetness. The note of dunnage-funk that was picked up on the nose now appears after the other flavours have had their performance on the tongue. It's a note of dampness like you pick up when you walk into a dunnage warehouse where the ground is damp, the air is thick with the aromas of angels share escaping the casks, along with dampness, mildew & lichen on stone walls. It's an almost chewable aroma.

Finish: Long, sweet, and very lingering. Notes of chocolate, sweet sherry, light tobacco, and a damp warehouse.

Water adds: More fruitiness and nuttiness on the nose, an Oloroso dryness with some increased wood & sourness on the palate. Increased notes of caramel overall.

Conclusion: Stonking. A huge hitting, youthful sherry-powered chocolate love machine of a whisky.

Another great cask pick from Abbey Whisky.

Available exclusively at Abbey Whisky for £69.95 (at the time of writing)

Link to the online store is here

More about Lindores Abbey Distillery here