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 12 year old from the Flora and Fauna range. The Flora and Fauna range was introduced in 1991 and followed in the footsteps of the Classic Malts range, which was introduced in 1988 and featured six single malts deemed to be the most iconic. Flora and Fauna offers a wider range of distilleries in the United Distillers group, with 22 single malts in total, including some less well-known malts that were generally reserved for the group’’s blends. The range owes its name to the famous whisky specialist Michael Jackson and refers to the labels depicting animals and wildlife. These bottlings have become difficult to find and many are simply no longer sold.