Aaaaaaaannnnd we’re off with another Malt Nuts tasting. This time we’re tasting Miltonduff aged for 20+ years and is the second part of the Malt Nuts exploration of Miltonduff. Which is an odd distillery to explore for sure, but honestly, that’s why we do it. We want to taste it all and build those mental libraries of tastes, aromas and distillery profiles… also we want to hang out, drink some whisky and have fun. To which I can say… missing accomplished.
Malt Nuts Miltonduff 20+ Years Rounds
- Miltonduff 20+ Years Round 1
- Miltonduff 20+ Years Round 2
You know the rounds and by now you should know the deal (blinded till the end) so Miltonduff, here we come!
Malt Nuts Miltonduff 20+ Years Round 1
1A: Berry’s Miltonduff 20 years (95-15): 54.7% – “oak”
- Nose: Waxy fruit, malt, toast, citrus and cinnamon
- Palate: Alcohol, honey, malt, orchard fruit, citrus and cinnamon.
- Finish: Long -> Honey, malt, fruit and cinnamon
- Overall: C+ (77-79) Not much aroma behind the alcohol which is a theme that runs to the palate. Crazy amount of alcohol coming off of this one. With water it gets fruity and a tad soapy.
1B: Cadenhead’s Miltonduff 24 years: 55.3% – “oak”
- Nose: Orange zest, malt, cocoa, toast, vanilla frosting
- Palate: Orange zest, malt, cocoa, char, vanilla, fruit oil
- Finish: Med -> Fruit oil, malt, toffee
- Overall: B- (80-82) Better than A. More fruit, and no soap, but still not wild about it. Water brings out some jam/marmalade notes, cinnamon and Smarties.
1C: Old Particular Miltonduff 21 years (95-16): 51.5% – refill barrel
- Nose: Citrus, Orange zest, lemon zest, malt, soap, vanilla, tangerine, apricot
- Palate: Waxy citrus, orange, malt, vanilla, herbal
- Finish: Med -> lemon, wax, malt, spice, herbal
- Overall: B- (80-82) Not bad, still not exciting. Water brings out some additional spice, tannic oak and dried apricots, but I’m not finding anything I’m crazy about here.
1D: Acorn Miltonduff 21 years (95-16): 58%
- Nose: Citrus, orchard, malt, licorice, honey
- Palate: Citrus, orchard, malt, honey and waxy fruit
- Finish: Med -> Waxy fruit and malt
- Overall: B- (80-82) Meh… just meh. Water doesn’t do much, kind of a touch more orange on the citrus.
Malt Nuts Miltonduff 20+ Years Round 2
2A: Distiller’s Art Miltonduff 22 years (94-16): 48% – refill Hogshead
- Nose: Honey, dried fruit, strawberries, vanilla and citrus
- Palate: Honey, dark fruit, strawberry, malt, toffee and olive oil
- Finish: Long -> Dried dark fruit, malt and toffee
- Overall: B (83-86) Touch sherry across the senses, good, but not special. Water brings out a touch more sherry, graham and fruit.
2B: Faultline “Speyside” (Miltonduff) 30 years: 52.3% – “Oak”
- Nose: Honey, marmalade, malt and citrus
- Palate: Honey, malt, marmalade, citrus and menthol
- Finish: Med -> Honey, malt, Canadian Mints
- Overall: B- (80-82) Acidic and bitter at first, but softens up a bit with some water.
2C: Samaroli Miltonduff 20 years (95-15): 45%
- Nose: Banana, citrus, fruit, malt, pear and apricot
- Palate: Banana, citrus, fruit, malt, pear, herbal, acidic
- Finish: Med -> Banana, citric acid, fruit
- Overall: B- (80-82) Yeesh, two acidic malts in a row. Water removes some of the bitter sharpness and adds some melon making it almost pleasant.
2D: Gordon & Macphail Miltonduff 20 years (97-17): 58.8% – 1st Fill Sherry Butt
- Nose: Butterscotch, toffee, malt, vanilla, pears and honey
- Palate: Buttered popcorn, apricots, apples, toffee, char
- Finish: Long -> Buttered popcorn, apricots, apples and char
- Overall: B+ (87-89) Buttery and fruity. This is a really interesting malty and with some water some sherry-like notes pop out and make it a robust offering. Digging this whisky! (turned out to be mine… hell yeah!).
My takeaway from this is that Miltonduff is more-or-less meh whisky with some nice bottles scattered about. Looking at my notes from round one of the Malt Nuts Miltonduff Tasting I see a pattern of boring emerge unless the whisky is finished or aged in something other than ex-bourbon casks. It’s a fairly standard and not-noteworthy whisky otherwise.
Till next time, cheers!
