Distillery of the Day! (and other news)

Know your Speyside distilleries!  Today's featured producer is Linkwood, an active distillery that only bottles 1-2% of its production for single malt consumption.  The other 98% goes to blends like Johnnie Walker, White Horse, and Abbot's Choice.  Linkwood's incredible fruity and floral whisky is so carefully guarded that former distillery manager Roderick Mackenzie was prohibited from changing a single thing when he took over - even spider webs - for fear that it would adversely alter the whisky.  Linkwood produces roughly 2,600,000 liters of whisky a year, but you'll rarely ever see a bottle.  Diageo, who owns the distillery, will be releasing a Manager's Choice bottling of 1996 Linkwood soon, but you'll be paying a minimum of $500 if you can even find one.  Luckily, my good friends at JVS have a bottle that is currently only being distributed in California and it's delicious:

1995 Linkwood Signatory Single Malt Whisky $69.99

It is an unchillfiltered, fruity, fragrant, and tasty single malt delight that really tastes like no other whisky I've ever had.  So if you're looking for a unique tasting experience, you know where to go.  That's it for your distillery of the day.

In other news, I've been in talks lately with Martin's West pub in Redwood City and we have January 27th as the tentative date for our first single malt whisky tasting.  It will likely feature Highland and Speyside malts as we begin the first in a series of tastings, starting with the lighter styles and building up to the powerful ones.  Not sure what the cost will be but I'm estimating around $35 for a bunch of booze, information, and hors d' oeuvres.  More info to come as we get this thing organized.

- David Driscoll