The first ever age stated Lindores lowland single malt

The Lindores Lowland Single Malt Whisky distillery is one of the new arrivals (since 2017) that take a laidback and honest approach to the market. At least, this is how it comes off to me. With a very modest production of less than 200.000 litres per annum, the output is not very high at the moment. Today’s sample is therefor a special one. First of all, because I managed to be able to buy a sample in a share group on Zuckerberg’s platform. Secondly, it seems to be the very first Lindores bottling with an age statement. I love an age statement on a whisky bottle, since I am perfectly fine judging if I want to buy a young whisky or an old whisky. Especially since it helps determine if the asking price (whatever it is) is reasonable. Really, you can call your whisky “A Night on Earth” as much as you want, but if you do not inform me on the contents, I will take a pass.

The Lindores 6 years old that we taste today, was released to members of a “1494 club”, which contains, as you might guess, exactly 1494 members at the moment. New applications are not taken; the membership is sold out. I suppose releasing bottles to these members makes flipping them unattractive, since members could be traced. A good thing.

Lindores 6 years old, bottled at 49,4 %

Makeup: I found little information online, except for this line: “Distilled at the birthplace of Scotch Whisky in 1494, this has aged in 100% bourbon casks and bottled at cask strength of 49.4%.” Rather a low strength after 6 years, is it not? The angels are thirsty around the abbey. Bottled in 2024 in a beautiful matte black bottle.

General impressions: Lovely fresh smells rising from the glass, with hints of white grapes and  lemons. A slight touch of vanilla, serving the aforementioned impressions. Lots of mown grass. Modest but very good. On first sip, I would say this is textbook lowland malt, with lots of vanilla and woody notes, and a fierce but dry malty mouthfeel. Quite a heavy liquid to be honest, one that will probably stand up to much longer maturation very easily. 

This is going to be a belter at twice the age. Swirling it around in the glass, it shows great, fat legs dripping down, like the tears I cried when Netherlands lost to England last week at the Euro2024. With water, some bitterness comes out, not really an improvement. The bottling strength is excellent.

Conclusion: A good drop of Lowland Single Malt, even though it lacks complexity. We like to follow Lindores for a few years now, having tasted quite nice (single cask) expressions. This 6 years old could well be a release with commercial potential. But waiting two more years is even better.

Score: 82 points

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