Lindores Abbey Aqua Vitae

Lindores Abbey is recorded as the first place Scotch whisky was distilled in 1494 by Brother John Cor for King James IV, using eight bolls of malt. This spirit is pot-distilled and then infused with herbs and spices foraged from the Abbey grounds, including lemon verbena, cleavers, douglas fir, and sweet cicely. It was crafted using an old recipe thought to resemble the initial Scottish aqua vitae from 1494. Nose: It hits you like a spice market, with pine, aniseed, orange oil, mixed spice, floral-herbal notes, and sharp lemon. It has a comforting mulled wine body. This aroma is hard to fully describe; it's not like a whisky, but something distinct and truly amazing. Palate: A lush, mouth-filling texture like cake batter. You get fresh nutmeg on fruitcake, dried orange peel, cinnamon stick, cardamom, and ginger coated in dark chocolate. Brown sugar is swirled through black coffee. Finish: Medium. Dried apple with spice, a pleasant warmth, and a slight tannic grip. It's like distilling the feeling of sitting by a fire at Christmas, gazing at a tree, eating mince pies, and anticipating Santa. While not strictly a whisky, it'll be my go-to Christmas drink, regardless of Perth's 40°C Christmases. Although I enjoyed it, I don't want to overstate it. It's good, yes, but it's a straightforward spice bomb, lacking subtlety or deep complexity, just well-executed flavor in a great spirit base. [Shown with a gabbro rock from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, featuring black tourmaline and golden pyrite from a 470-million-year-old igneous intrusion.] Lindores running scores: New make: 3.25/5 Aqua Vitae Small Batch: 3.5/5

Nose: Sparkling wine, green grapes, a prominent white wine aroma, floral notes, green apple, hints of botanicals—perhaps juniper and certainly anise, notes of nutmeg and clove, green grape juice, spices for mulled wine, canned peaches, cloudy apple juice Body: Slightly dry, quite smooth, a little spicy, a sort of dusty quality (in a good way!) Palate: Very sweet, still clearly some nutmeg and clove, grape-like but not like cognac, peach and pear, cinnamon, dark chocolate, rosemary and thyme Finish: Soft and tannic, traces of oak and the botanicals remain prominent, very juicy as it develops over time