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Linkwood
Founded
1821
Region
Speyside
Status
Operational
Company
Production type
Single Malt
Production capacity
5,600,000 litres per year
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Linkwood is a Speyside malt distillery located on the southern outskirts of Elgin. It was built in 1821 by Peter Brown, commencing production three years later. It was acquired by the Distillers Company in 1932 and is today part of the Scotch whisky holdings of Diageo, providing it with essential fillings for its Johnnie Walker and White Horse blends, among others.
The distillery produces a spirit with a famously thick texture on the palate, meaning it always having been highly popular with blenders. Official releases of its single malt are rare as a result, however it is a regular fixture in outturns from independent bottlers.
Following its acquisition by the Distillers Company, the license for Linkwood was assigned to one of its blenders, John McEwen & Co, which used its malt for its Abbot's Choice and Chequers brands. It also marketed a Linkwood single malt brand, beginning in the mid-1960s. The flagship age statement was a 12-year-old however it also produced a 5-year-old for the Italian market. Its agent there was the legendary Silvano Samaroli who also requested several special vintage bottlings of both.
In 1982 Linkwood was packaged into The Malt Cellar, a collection of five single malts and a blended malt that the Distillers Company marketed to hotels and bars. It is generally considered a precursor series to the Classic Malts of Scotland range introduced by United Distillers in 1988. Despite a recent rebranding, Linkwood was overlooked by United Distillers in favour of Cragganmore and the brand was eventually discontinued in 1991. Instead, the distillery's 12-year-old became one of the Flora & Fauna malts and it remains the only permanent official bottling to this day.
A unique Linkwood brand was reintroduced in 2016 when the distillery was included in that year's Diageo Special Releases, however it has never been used outside of other limited editions such as the Prima & Ultima series. Unusually, bottlings from Diageo's Casks of Distinction programme prefer the Flora & Fauna design.
Linkwood Distillery
Elgin
Morayshire
IV30 3RD
Scotland
Active brands
Single Malt
