Well here we are at the start of a new year, a new decade, and most excitingly – a whole new era for our club and we are going to start it with a bang. This month we have an absolutely superb ‘sherry’ hit out from our old friends, esteemed independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail – the Miltonduff 10 year old.
The Miltonduff 10 year old is from our old friends, independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail. This whisky is part of Gordon & MacPhail’s “Discovery Range” and sets out to showcase an amazing ‘sherry’ flavour profile. Non-peated and aimed squarely at the ‘Sherry Bomb’ market – if you like a big hit of stewed fruits or you still feel like a heaping big bowl of Christmas pud, then you’ll want one of the Miltonduff 10 year old.
Nose: an initial hit of after school butter and jam on weet-bix (remember those!), there’s caramel and stewed fruits. All this is underpinned by an earthy grassy note.
Palate: Coats mouth nicely with an initial mild yet warming spice all over. This gives way to honey, spicy plum pudding and orange. Wafts of jasmine come and go and that earthiness persists to temper the sweetness.
Finish: Nice and long, spicy and chewy with a sweetness that fades to a savoury – like sweet pork at an Asian food stall.
Miltonduff 10 year old – DISTILLERS NOTES
Miltonduff 10 year old
ABV: 43%
Bottle Size: 700ml
Region: Scotland – Speyside
Peated: No
Cask Type: French oak sherry casks previously used to age tawny fortified wine
Nose: Chocolate and sticky orange marmalade transforms into juicy plump stewed raisins and sweet baked apple, freshly cut grass notes delicately balance the rich sherry influences.
Taste: Sweet and spicy: comforting butter candies weave with roasted hazelnut followed closely by orange zest, cinnamon, and mouth-warming pepper maturing into plum and fig jam.
Finish: Long with highlights of chocolate and stewed fruit finishing with lingering winter spices.
ABOUT THE DISTILLERY
Situated six miles southwest of Elgin is Pluscarden Abbey. Initially a Priory, it was founded by King Alexander II in 1230. Miltonduff Distillery is said to be situated on the site of the Abbey’s meal mill, two miles from the Abbey. A stone from the original Abbey is retained at the distillery.
Originally an illicit distillery known as ‘Milton’, the passing of the excise act of 1823 (legalising and regulating the production whisky in Scotland) allowed Robert Bain and Andrew Peary to establish the Miltonduff Distillery as a legitimate concern in 1824. The new name for the distillery merged the name of the old, illegal distillery with the name of the original owners of the land – the Duffs.
The Miltonduff Distillery has released its single malt under two different Brands – Miltonduff (unpeated) and Mosstowie (peated). They have two completely different sets of stills – one for each brand. Sadly, the Mosstowie stills have been silent for years now. Interestingly – there has never been an official distillery bottling of Mosstowie – only independently bottled releases.
All of the Miltonduff stills, three wash and three spirit, have the traditional, “onion” shape. They are approximately 15 foot high with the Lyne arm having a relatively steep drop at approximately 30°. The wash stills have a capacity of 18,000 litres and the spirit stills 17,500 litres. They are both charged with 17,000 litres. The wash distillation typically takes 5 hours and the spirit distillation around 8 hours.
Five million litres of new-make spirit is produced each year at Miltonduff but only a tiny percentage of that is sold as single malt whisky. Miltonduff is the backbone of Ballantines Scotch Whisky (a blend) and the vast majority of whisky made at Miltonduff goes into that.
