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KWM 2022 Whisky Calendar Day 2: Lindores Abbey Single Malt Scotch

Posted on December 2, 2022

BONUS CONTENT: Read Andrew's write-up on the 2nd KWM Cask ever selected here!

by Evan

Door Number Two for the 2022 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Calendar is in front of me, just begging to be opened. What is inside? It’s the Lindores Abbey Single Malt Scotch!

While Lindores Abbey itself has a long history, the distillery does not. It was only just founded in 2017 on the site of the ruins of the former Abbey by owners Drew and Helen Mackenzie Smith.

Lindores Abbey is one of only a handful of Scottish distilleries that has the ability to make Single Estate Whisky, thanks to being able to use barley crops grown on fields close by that were owned by the Abbey dating back to the 1400s.

Lindores Abbey itself dates back more than two centuries prior to that. It was founded by the Earl of Huntingdon around 1178. The site included a church and monastery and is responsible for the earliest known record of Scotch Whisky: In 1494 King James IV paid Friar Jon Cor of Lindores Abbey: “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, VIII bolls of Malt, wherewith to make acqua vitae"

The Abbey was ordered to be torn down in 1559, and now, nearly half a millennium later, only the ruins of a few walls and old grave sites remain to show where it once stood.

The site and the distillery residing on it are located in what is considered the Scottish Lowlands near the town of Newburgh, east of Perth and West of St Andrews, near the southern shore of the River Tay. Most of its closest distillery neighbours are also relatively new. Daftmill Distillery is about a 15-minute drive south. Kingsbarns Distillery is a 50-minute drive to the East. Or you could travel to the much older Glenturret Distillery which is a 50-minute drive to the West.

That is enough of that for now. Let’s taste some whisky!

Lindores Abbey Single Malt – 46%

Full-sized bottles can be found here

This Lindores Abbey Single Malt Scotch is composed of 3 to 4-year-old whisky that was matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, and ex-Wine casks. Full-sized bottles of this release are also available.

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Pine resin, milk chocolate, honey on toasted rye bread, Earl Grey tea, vanilla-scented candles, and Kellog's Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal.

Palate: Soft and honeyed, oatmeal with brown sugar, salted Marcona almonds, chamomile tea and plateful shortbread cookies and gingerbread cookies on the side, 

Finish: Smooth and warming with lingering salty almond and honey notes.

Comment: A very solid first release from a distillery worth keeping an eye on.

Two days in and we have covered quite a bit of ground, going from the Beast of Dufftown to one with the youngest whiskies with the oldest recorded history around. What will tomorrow bring? See you then!

Cheers,
Evan
[email protected]
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool

 

This entry was posted in Whisky, Whisky Calendars, KWM Whisky Calendar 2022

 

 

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