The Lindores Distilling Co. Ltd. Lindores Abbey 2018 Cask #18/220

This official Lindores Abbey single malt, a 4 year old from 2018, drawn from cask 18/220 and bottled at 60.1%. Only 264 bottles were released. Lindores Abbey Distillery opened in 2017 beside the abbey ruins where Scotch whisky was first written of in 1494. The Tironensian abbey was founded in 1191 on the banks of the Tay, and welcomed kings for centuries.

Distilled on water from a borehole the monks first dug, building the layered Lindores style. It was matured in ex-Bourbon oak, lending vanilla, orchard fruit and butterscotch. A young distillery leans on lively casks, the wood shaping much of the flavour. The house style is layered and fruity, richer than a typical light Lowland. The Casks of Lindores range shows the spirit in bourbon, sherry and STR red wine wood. The abbey ruins still stand beside the modern distillery buildings. 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.

Undiluted at 60.1%, it is powerful. The ex-Bourbon lends vanilla, orchard fruit and butterscotch. A baked apple and a warm spice lift it. The close is warm, fruit over young oak. This is Lindores Abbey's young Fife whisky.