Gordon & Macphail Linkwood 1972

A Tasty Dram Whisky Blog tasting notes

Tonight I'm starting a mini-series of reviews on Gordon & Macphail's Speyside Collection. First up is the youngest of the bunch: a Linkwood 1972 from a first fill sherry hogshead.

Linkwood Distillery was built by Peter Brown in 1821. Alfred Barnard thought the name came from the woods surrounding the distillery. The buildings were demolished and completely rebuilt in 1872 by William Brown, son of Peter. The only building still standing from this era is Warehouse No. 6 and the old kiln with the pagoda.

One year prior to distilling this whisky, Linkwood increased their stills from two to six. Technically however, the four new stills belonged to a new distillery that was called Linkwood B. Whether the whisky comes from Linkwood A or B is not known (yet).





A photo posted by Kat Stables (@katstables) on






Identity Card Linkwood 1972

  • Linkwood 1972, Linkwood Distillery (Elgin, Speyside)
  • Gordon & Macphail distillery label
  • Distilled 17th November 1972. Bottled 3rd July 2013
  • 40 year old single malt
  • 277 bottles from first fill sherry hogshead #14796
  • Alcohol: 43%

Tasting notes

Colour: Old gold. An oily texture leaving slow thick legs behind.

Nose: Very aromatic. A soft caramel aroma and fresh figs. Baked apple with cinnamon and chestnuts . Geo F. Trumper Sandalwood shaving soap. A sweet perfume with quite a bit of floral notes. Wood shavings. Egg yellow. Or rather a spicy crème catalan. Grenadine candy.
With water: musky flavours are mingling with fruit salad. Apple, orange and banana. And nuts. Lots of chestnut and almond.

Taste: The start is a bit sharp. The texture is surprisingly light and elegant. Apple with a whiff of menthol and sandalwood. Banana candy covered in chocolate.
With water: Spicy oranges. Clove and cinnamon. Dried and chopped mint. Near the end some tobacco breaks through.

Finish: A long and elegant aftertaste. Chocolate, mint, pepper and nuts.

What else did happen in 1972?

  • January 5: President Nixon orders the development of the Space Shuttle program

  • January 24: WWII Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered in Guam after 28 years in the jungle.

  • February 17:  Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.

  • May 24: Rangers F.C. win the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup by defeating Dynamo Moscou in Camp Nou.



No point in hiding I was pretty excited when this sample pack was dropped at my doorstep. Sampling these malts will certainly are very likely to give me a few experience points on my route to the perfect whisky (if such whisky exists).

This Linkwood 1972 is the youngest from Gordon & Macphail's Speyside Collection. Absolutely fabulous stuff. Only 75 boxes are available of this premium collection of vintage malts comprising amongst others a 1948 Glenlivet and 1954 Mortlach. Watch out for tomorrow's tasting notes. I'll be sipping and nipping a Longmorn from 1967.

A sample of this whisky was provided by Gordon & Macphail. Opinions expressed in this review are of course my own.

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