The Lindores Distilling Co. Ltd. Lindores Abbey Friar John Cor

This Lindores Abbey single malt, bottled at 60.9%. 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. A fortified or wine cask shaped it, the fruit meeting the young spirit. The STR red wine casks of Jim Swan's design work fast on a young spirit, giving real depth in a few years. 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 a natural 60.9% it is bold and full. The Rum cask brings brown sugar and a tropical lift. 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.