Lindores Abbey The Casks of Lindores II

This Lindores Abbey single malt, bottled at 49.4%. Lindores Abbey at Newburgh revived distilling on the site of the earliest recorded Scotch, the 1494 entry for Friar John Cor. The 1494 Exchequer Rolls record a Lindores monk, Friar John Cor, making aqua vitae for King James IV, the earliest written reference to Scotch.

It was worked through copper stills for a layered young spirit, for a layered, fruity spirit, richer than a typical Lowland. Ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, soft oak giving vanilla and a toffee note. Shaved, toasted and recharred wood adds red fruit and a baking spice fast. The bottle shape is drawn from a 12th century pillar found in the abbey ruins. The 1494 Exchequer Rolls record a Lindores monk making aqua vitae for the king, the earliest written reference to Scotch. Michael Jackson wrote that for the whisky lover Lindores is a pilgrimage. The distillery was built in 2017 by Drew and Helen McKenzie Smith, whose family has held the land since 1913.

At cask strength 49.4% it is muscular. The ex-Bourbon lends vanilla, orchard fruit and butterscotch. Beneath it run stone fruit, butterscotch and a soft spice. It closes layered, fruity and warm. This is the single malt of Scotch whisky's spiritual home.