Scotch Whisky Review #370: SMWS 72.101 “Rum hammer punch” Miltonduff 7 Year Refill Ex-Panamanian Rum Barrel Finish (2013)

Distillery: Miltonduff.

Bottler: SMWS.

Region: Speyside.

Age: 7 Year. Distilled in 2013. Bottled in 2020.

Cask Number: 72.101.

ABV: 62.0% Cask Strength.

Color: 0.5, Yellow Gold. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

This review was done semi-blind. I knew that this was either a rum cask maturation or finish and was given the SMWS number, but did not decode it until after the review was complete.

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Nose: Very fruity and very bright. There’s a lot of tropical fruit, largely in the form of pineapple, but some passionfruit and papaya also come along. There’s a touch of lemon here and again along with a lot of sugar.

Palate: At full strength it is quite firey. Pineapple syrup, the kind that comes with those cans of pineapple slices, is a major note here. A few drops of water cools this down nicely. That pineapple syrup note remains strong but it is joined by a fruit punch of tropical flavors. Tropical fruit flavored Jolly Ranchers, assorted lychee jellies, piña colada flavored candies all stand out. Some passionfruit also pops in.

Finish: Quite long. Pineapple syrup is here again. There’s a creamy note, but not the milky creamy kind. It is tropical in nature as well, I’m thinking more along the lines of coconut meat. There’s a bit of fire lingering here, but it isn’t so much to upset the balance of things.

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Guess: The given information is that this is an ex-rum cask whisky. I can’t even tell how old it might be, it has a lot of depth of flavor that suggests it might be well matured but it has a firey youthfulness that suggests otherwise. This is definitely above 55% ABV. I’m going to guess it is an ex-rum Speysider, perhaps Glen Moray, or an ex-rum Arran. I can’t place the age so I’m just going to guess it’s about 10 years old.

Reveal: SMWS 72.101 “Rum hammer punch” Miltonduff 7 Year Refill Ex-Panamanian Rum Barrel Finish (2013)

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Conclusion: I had made a comment in /r/scotch‘s Discord that I didn’t really “get” ex-rum cask whiskies and got a sample of this to try out in response. I have to say, I think I get it now. I’ve never had Miltonduff before so I don’t know how much about the distillery character, but it apparently does very well in rum casks. This thing is a tropical fruit bomb. From pineapple to passionfruit to lychee, it’s just a wonderful medley of flavors. The finish brings also a wonderful tropical creamy note that reminds me of coconut meat, a note I’ve never gotten before in a whisky. Overall, fantastically done and definitely a set of flavors I’d seek out again.

Final Score: 85.

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Scotch Whisky Review #370, Speyside Review #134, Whisky Network Review #524

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.