Scotland, Speyside. Distillery operational. Owner: Diageo

Speyside, the golden triangle of the Scotch whisky industry, is home to a huge concentration of distilleries. From the internationally renowned to those known only to a few, Linkwood included. The distillery's oldest bottlings come from Italian importers such as Samaroli and Darma Import. One of the most sought-after is the Linkwood 12 Year Old 1957, 56.9%, Samaroli Import. After this, bottlings from its owners United Distillers & Vintners (Diageo) were rarer and appeared primarily in the Rare Malts Selection, Flora & Fauna and Manager's Dram ranges. It was not until the early 2000s that a 1981 trilogy finished in port, rum and red wine casks was released, propelling Linkwood into the spotlight. One again, it was independent bottlers, including Gordon & MacPhail and Cadenhead, that drove this single malt and brought it to the public's attention, from ex-sherry casks to very old vintages such as the 1939.

A Linkwood 23 year old distilled in 1974 and bottled at cask strength in 1997 for the Rare Malts series. Created in the mid-1990s by United Distillers (Diageo), the Rare Malts series features bottlings from many of the group’’s distilleries, including some of the lesser known whose production was generally used for blends, as well as closed distilleries such as Port Ellen and Brora. Bottled at cask strength, the whiskies in the range are also known for their sometimes astounding alcohol content, often exceeding 60% ABV. The Rare Malts range was discontinued in 2005.