The Lindores Distilling Co. Ltd. Lindores Abbey 2018 Cask #180402

An official Lindores Abbey single malt, a 4 year old Lowland malt from 2018, drawn from cask 180402 and bottled at 60.4%. 236 bottles in all. Lindores Abbey Distillery, in Fife, stands on the ground named in Scotch whisky's founding document, the 1494 Exchequer Rolls. The late Dr Jim Swan shaped its cask policy, with his signature shaved, toasted and recharred red wine barriques.

Distilled from local barley in copper stills on borehole water, giving the orchard fruit and butterscotch of the house style. A bourbon cask held it, keeping the layered fruit to the fore. A young, characterful spirit and a bold cask suit one another here. 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 60.4%, undiluted, it is rich and layered. The ex-Bourbon lends vanilla, orchard fruit and butterscotch. A vanilla and a baking spice give it depth. The finish runs rich, spiced and full. This is a rich, fruity young Fife single malt.