Linkwood 9 Years Old Oloroso Sherry Benchmark

This single malt was distilled at the Linkwood Distillery near Elgin, in the heart of Scotland's Speyside region. Linkwood is known for its light, fruity and floral spirit, an elegant style that is highly prized by blenders and makes a wonderful base for creative cask finishing.

For this Benchmark release, Murray McDavid matured the spirit in bourbon hogsheads before transferring it to first-fill Oloroso sherry hogsheads from Jerez in southern Spain, where it spent its final three years. Four casks were then brought together for bottling, released as part of Murray McDavid's 2022 Benchmark collection.

Oloroso is a rich, full-bodied style of sherry, aged in contact with the air to develop deep, nutty and dried-fruit characteristics. Jerez is the historic home of sherry, and casks seasoned there have long been among the most sought-after in Scotch whisky for the depth and richness they bring to maturing spirit.

Here, the first-fill Oloroso casks build richer fruit and sweetness on top of Linkwood's naturally bright, fruity character, while the bourbon hogsheads provide a soft, sweet foundation. Murray McDavid credit the careful choice of wood with bringing both flavour and balance to the whisky, a fine example of their Art of Maturation philosophy, and the result is a well-rounded, generous Speyside dram.

Aged for 9 years and bottled in 2022 from casks 313777, 313778, 313779 and 313780, it is bottled at 46% ABV, natural colour and no chill filtration.