The Lindores Distilling Co. Ltd. Lindores Abbey 2019 Cask #190251

This Lindores Abbey single malt, a 6 year old from 2019, drawn from cask 190251 and bottled at 61.5%. Only 50 bottles were released. Lindores Abbey Distillery sits at Newburgh in Fife, on the site where the first written record of Scotch whisky was made in 1494. The 1494 Exchequer Rolls record a Lindores monk, Friar John Cor, making aqua vitae for King James IV, the earliest written reference to Scotch.

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. 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. The Tironensian abbey was founded in 1191 on the banks of the Tay, and welcomed kings for centuries.

At a full 61.5% it is bold and fruity. The ex-Bourbon lends vanilla, orchard fruit and butterscotch. Beneath it run stone fruit, butterscotch and a soft spice. The close is warm, fruit over young oak. This is the single malt of Scotch whisky's spiritual home.