The Lindores Distilling Co. Ltd. Lindores Abbey 2018 Cask #18/0238

This Lindores Abbey single malt matured to 4 year old from 2018, drawn from cask 18/0238 and bottled at 60.2%. Just 246 bottles were filled. Lindores Abbey Distillery sits at Newburgh in Fife, on the site where the first written record of Scotch whisky was made in 1494. Barley is grown on the abbey land and water drawn from a borehole on site, with the whisky bottled at the distillery.

The spirit was run through copper pot stills fed by water from the abbey land, to build a textured, fruity character. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak for a honeyed, fruity sweetness. The STR red wine casks of Jim Swan's design work fast on a young spirit, giving real depth in a few years. The late Dr Jim Swan shaped the cask policy, with his signature recharred red wine barriques. Barley is grown on the abbey land and water drawn from a borehole the monks first dug. The first single malt, MCDXCIV, the Roman numerals for 1494, was released in 2021.

At a hearty 60.2% it carries real punch. The ex-Bourbon lends vanilla, orchard fruit and butterscotch. Soft orchard fruit and toffee sit behind the cask. A fruity, gently spiced finish lingers. This is the modern malt of the 1494 abbey.