Linlithgow 1982 / 26 Year Old

N:  A very accessible nose despite the massive strength.  Almost immediately, fresh grass, apple blossom, honeyed porridge, oatmeal cookies - remarkably fresh for its age.  After a while the oak appears but always remains polite and balanced. Delightful.

P:  At full strength (careful!) the oak is more noticeable, but the lighter honeyed, fruity touches fight their way through the big, mouth-watering alcohol.  Pleasant, but clearly water is advised.

After a glass of water for me and a few drops for the dram, I've taken it down to (guesstimate) high 40s abv: the oats are more assertive on the nose now.  Palate is much more tempered and sweeter, with some lovely natural caramel and barley sugar. 

F:  The oak is getting slightly dusty, as these older malts frequently will.  Somehow it realy suits the other flavours of this dram.

C:  I enjoyed this a lot and Sukhinder is raving about it.  This is, for me, a big step up from our previous Linlithgow, which was very well-received, and is without a doubt my favourite of the bottlings we've done so far from this distillery.