Lindores Abbey whiskies

History

Lindores Abbey was founded by Tironensian monks in the 12th century and became one of the most important in Scotland before its decline after the Reformation. In 1494 the Scottish Exchequer accounts recorded the delivery of malt to Friar John Cor to make aqua vitae by order of the king, an entry now considered the first document about Scotch whisky. More than five hundred years later, the family that owns the abbey’s land decided to revive that history and built a distillery next to the ruins, which began producing in 2017. Its benchmark malt bears the year 1494 in Roman numerals.

House style

Lindores Abbey’s malt is fruity and spicy, with red fruit, apple, vanilla and cereal. It combines bourbon, red wine and sherry casks, and is bottled at 46% ABV, without chill filtration and with natural colour. It uses no peat. The distillery also makes a herbal aqua vitae, inspired by medieval drinks, which is not whisky. It is a young but well-made malt that shows the ambition of a distillery that wants to live up to its history.

Where to start

Lindores Abbey MCDXCIV is the catalogue’s entry. It is a young, well-balanced malt, good for drinking neat. If you like it, compare it with Kingsbarns Dream to Dram, the other modern Fife distillery, and with the classic Lowland malts, such as Auchentoshan 12.

• Lindores Abbey MCDXCIVSingle malt · 46% ABV