Scotch Whisky Review #411: Mackillop’s Choice Single Cask Miltonduff (1967)
Distillery: Miltonduff.
Region: Speyside.
Age: NAS. Distilled in May of 1967. Sister cask was bottled in the late 90s at 32 years of age, guessing it’s from a similar era.
Cask Number: 5414.
ABV: 43.0%
Price: $370.
Color: 1.2, Chestnut/Oloroso Sherry.
Nose: There is this old, musty wood note that reminds me a lot of this old Bowmore I’ve had before. It’s like finding yourself in a dusty old bookstore with wooden selves mixed with a fruitiness and a bit of funk. The fruit notes are less like the blackcurrant I found in the Bowmore and more like a lemon drop or very sweet lemons. There’s is a faint note of sherry as well. Following all of that comes a touch of menthol and other aromatics. It’s a seemingly odd mix of old, funky, fruity and bright refreshing notes, but it works quite nicely.
Palate: It’s fairly muted at the start but after a sip or two it starts to really build up in flavor. Notes of citrus and malt are what dominate mostly. As you go, notes of chocolate malt or chocolate covered Digestives (the biscuit) really take over. Some old sherry notes come in here and again as well.
Finish: Much like the palate, the first couple of sips have a really short finish. It builds and gets longer and longer seemingly with each sip. The chocolate malt/chocolate Digestives note is the most dominant. The bit of musty, dusty bookstore note comes back again in all of the funkiness.
Conclusion: On the list of things I’d almost instantly spring for is finding a birth date bottling. This Miltonduff is probably the closest I’ve found, while it has no date listed its sister cask was bottled on the 16th of May so it’s plausible that this one was barreled a few days earlier on the right date. I’ve not had old Miltnoduff, or a lot of Miltonduff in general, so I could only hope my “YOLO” moment wasn’t just throwing money down the drain. Thankfully, it seems to have panned out alright. The nose on this is easily the standout feature. Those old, musty, dusty, funky notes are really right up my alley especially mixed with some of the fruitier notes. The menthol and aromatic scents just build upon that. The palate and finish were decent, though screaming to have been bottled at a higher ABV. The citrus and chocolate biscuit notes are a really nice combination and that hit of sherry every now and again gives this some depth. At even 46% ABV, I think it might have had a chance of being something amazing to spectacular, but as it is it feels a little muted and unable to deliver on the wonderful promises the nose is making. Quite good though I doubt I would spring for another bottle.
Final Score: 84.
Note: I’ve made some changes to the scoring legend, the descriptions have been updated slightly to match my actual scoring a little better.
Scotch Whisky Review #411, Speyside Review #151, Whisky Network Review #565
Scoring Legend:
- 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
- 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
- 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
- 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
- 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
- 70-74: Alright, solid and 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.
Scotch & Sheen 
