Next up on our quick Scotch Whiskey review series is the 1997 Hepburn’s Choice Macduff 21 Years which I picked up from K&L back in 2018 for the astonishingly low price of $60. It had started out at $80, but folks kept passing it up and so it went on clearance for $60 and I snatched one up. I wish I’d grabbed two.
If you’ve never heard of the Macduff distillery don’t feel bad. Not only is it a distillery that rarely gets talked about but the majority of it goes into Dewar’s blends. However, some of it does make it to market as a single malt, but it gets sold under a completely different name: The Deveron. If you want some more information about the naming checkout my The Deveron 12 Years review to see what’s going on over there.
1997 Hepburn’s Choice Macduff 21 Years Review: Details and Tasting Notes
“While it’s not a name that gets people running into the store, there’s no question that Macduff is producing some gorgeous Highland malt of the highest quality. Part of what makes it so unique is the use of 5 total stills (2 large wash and 3 smaller spirit) which contribute to the extremely elegant character of this exceptional malt. Not as fruity as Benrinnes and not nearly savory as Mortlach, the only other distillery with this precise setup is actually Talisker.
For those looking for purity, complexity and crave the refined flavors of the malt-driven distillates in the eastern Highlands, there’s no doubt that you’ll fall in love with this most stalwart of malts. Macduff will save Scotland again. Well, at least he’ll save you a few bucks, so might as well make him King already.”
Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)
Region: Highlands, Scotland
Distiller: Macduff
Bottled by: Hunter Laing
Bottled for: K&L
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: Refill Hogshead
Age: 21 Years (97-18)
ABV: 55.3%
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Bottles: 267
Price: NA – Auction, Specialty Store or Private Seller (~$80 when available)
Tasting Notes
EYE
Straw
NOSE
Banana, honey, vanilla, orange candy, spice, lemon bars and malty sweetness.
PALATE
Banana, vanilla, Honey Nut Cheerios, orange candy, vanilla, spice and strawberry taffy and some toasted nuts.
FINISH
Long -> Honey, nuts and malty sweetness.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great sense of balance, full body and an oily slick feel.
1997 Hepburn’s Choice Macduff 21 Years Review: Overall and Score
Aroma is a touch graham heavy and it holds together layers of complex fruit and candy sweetness; Palate is where it really shines with rich layers of complex fruity and dessert sweetness, earthy maltiness and baking spices; Finish is a nice fade of Honey Nut Cheerios. This is just a flat-out good whisky.
Dessert/pastry sweet, fruity sweet, cereal grain sweet, malty earthy and spicy this 1997 Hepburn’s Choice Macduff 21 Years has it all. This is a gem of a Scotch that sat on the shelf for far too long but now that it’s gone I wish I could go back in time and snag more. This was a hell of a deal, I just wish I knew it at the time!
SCORE: 4/5
Hepburn's Choice Macduff 21 Review $80
Overall
4- Nose (3.5)
- Palate (4.25)
- Finish (4.25)
- BBF (4)
User Review
0 (0 votes) Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)Hepburn's Choice Macduff 21 Review Summary
Except for smoke, this whisky has all of the classic Scotch notes delivered richly. I want to keep going back to this bottle over and over because each time I do I get A new aspect of its complexity coming through. A joy for the senses.
