Lindores Abbey: Singles Night

Brought to us by SWAG’s very own Garson, today I’m trying the first single cask distillery-only exclusives from Lindores Abbey. These bottlings come under ’The Distillery Cask’ moniker, and that ladies & gellyspoons, is all I know about them.

I won’t be delving into any more of Lindores Abbey’s rather fabulous story this time around. You can read more about that HERE and HERE.

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We start today’s wee session with the lowest young malt, abv-wise, at a mere 60.7% !!

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Lindores Abbey 2018/2021 3yo Ob. Bourbon cask #18/68 [220 bts] 60.7% WB0

• N: That’s bourbon [cask maturation] alright! More importantly, I recognise this, stylistically, from a bottle of Lindores Abbey 1494 I recently finished [full report below]. What’s coming through from the core release, here, is a young malt with a particular sweet > savoury > sour fruity honeyed beer-like character – in particular, a honey & maple syrup-soaked banana/bloomer breadiness with some lightly toasted poppy seeds on top. Delicious! Much like Lindores’ 1st-fill bourbon cask #289 [WLP], there’s no abv nip on the nose whosoever.
• T: Neat, rather sour and peppery. The abv also strikes, but thankfully, it takes to some water. Now softer if more grainy, there’s still no hiding from the rawness, however. Diluted some more, after a savoury bready arrival, it remains rather sour though the pepperiness has diminished somewhat.
• F: Short finish after a relatively longer unwind. Continuing sour, we’ve a floury/chalky mild vanilla & banana < natural yoghurt conclusion.
• C: I go back to that nose again and again. Lindores have distillery character, early on. How that evolves over time is anyone’s guess. It’ll be fascinating watching the evolution in real time.

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Lindores Abbey 2018/2021 3yo Ob. Red Wine Barrique #18/38 [188 bts] 61.9% WB0

• N: A sweeter number by comparison to the previous bourbon cask, though with lighter bubblegum notes than a previously tried ex-red wine re-char quarter cask sample #508 [WLP] – a sample which proved most popular at the time. Whilst looking for quince jelly – none to be found – there’s plenty of vanilla ice cream and something of light butterscotch Angel Delight and/or tutti-frutti, but we’re talking a more vegetal than sugary sweetness, slightly calvados-like too, and bready once again. I really like the toasted brioche-like breadiness going on here.
• T: Another swimmer [thank goodness], as this has more of a resinous edge than the [black] pepperiness of the bourbon cask. Fairly non-descript in the middle stages,…
• F: ,…. and very soon we swoosh into the finish with a restrained if ever-giving vanilla tutti-fruity note, a persistent clove-like heat, and bready-citrus savoury sourness.
• C: No doubt, ex-red wine casks will play a pivotal role in future Lindores releases.

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Lindores Abbey 2018/2021 3yo Ob. Sherry cask #18/95 [605 bts] 61.4% WB0

• N: That’s sherry alright, a honeyed sherried-ness with a particular [desirable] light-lactose-y/cream-cheese ‘funk’. Like with the red wine barrique, we find ourselves in the patisserie section, this time coming out with calvados/pear tart, custard tarts,.. On another level, I find this slightly coppery with hints of popadom, nan bread,… olive bread.
• T: Finding this more consistent in form in comparison to the previous two releases, this sherry cask seemingly holds the spirit without fully enveloping it. Again though, we have a resinous heat issue, neat. Diluted, there’s a convergence between this and the red-wine cask, but here, the cask appears relatively more committed to the cause.
• F: As a few interesting descriptors pass by [peanut butter jelly beans, for example], there’s a desirable greasy oily mouthfeel at the tail end.
• C: It’s all very well evaluating/scrutinising these single cask offerings as separate entities against all the rest, but we may be best to view these releases as a snapshot in time of a fresh family unit. As work in progress, all three score around the mid < high 70s.

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As mentioned earlier, here’s my bottle review of a Lindores Abbey core release, picked up at Tyndrum [aka Green Welly Stop] on a glorious day last summer [WLP].

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Lindores Abbey 1494 [2021] Ob. MCDXCIV [40000 bts] 46% WB83.12[116] WF78 SWAGinterview WLP182

• N: A savoury [bitter-] sweet nose that is unlikely to offend, and more likely win you round. Whilst the character of the ‘make’ is still maintained, those mandatory three years of maturation have added a complimentary dressing to proceedings. Namely: [green-ish] fruity banana-bread, a citrusy beer-like character, a touch bready-floury [though slightly less bloomer-like than the inaugural release: WLP82],… hints of minerallic calvados. Importantly, Lindores have found a way of utilising STR without ending up in a generic STR cul-de-sac.
• T: With a slightly greasy floral confectionary-creamy [foam] banana > honeyed vanilla sweetness, a peppered waxy-ish huskiness, and something of an Adnams-like ‘mild’ beer arrival and subsequent travel, I find this on the right side of the sharp/pokey citric~spicy line also.
• F: With a decent length form throughout, we’ve yet more of that savoury = bitter~sweet dry-yet succulent creamy banana/vanilla [mild] beer-like spirit faithfulness, slightly floury & bloomer-like again at the tail. Is there much difference from the inaugural release? Swings & roundabouts.
• C: Presented to please without pandering, a bottle didn’t last long.

Scores 82 points [easily, and as before]

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With thanks to Garson.

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END

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