Miltonduff 10 yo Gordon & Macphail vs Miltonduff 7 yo 2006/2014 Krugers No. 12

Since I had some Mosstowie the last session it seems only right that I should round it off with some regular  Miltonduff. Since there are virtually no official releases this side of 2000, except for the limited Chivas ‘Cask Strength Edition’ bottling which is certainly not a general release, these Miltonduffs would have to be independents.

Gordon & Macphail have done several releases for Miltonduff including some vintaged expressions, but this is the entry level 10 yo bottled circa 2008. These simple and young releases have shown to be a very good way to gain familiarity with the naked character of the modern distillery

The second is an even younger but full powered (64.8%!) and very dark 7 yo distilled in 2006 by Thomas Kruger’s own eponymous label. This one is a bit puzzling. If Miltonduff is predominantly a blending malt, was this cask really filled at 65+%? This is not a common practice  – as we know most whisky is filled at 63.5% for consistency across the industry.

One more nugget about Miltonduff – it is built on the site of the Pluscarden Abbey, which gives a clue when independents bottle unnamed malts by that name.

The stills – fairly fat, not very tall and sharply downward slanted lyne arms.

Miltonduff 10 yo Gordon & Macphail 40% circa 2008

 Nose: This is.. Quite nice actually. Some plasticine and some clean pottery clay, bread dough from white flour (I bake bread too).  A lot of fresh malt, melting butter and some thick bready kind of toast. err.. More malt. A bit of clean fruity esters, maybe even  a bit of lemon. Overall clean, good punch, rather big  and very interesting as it is maybe closer to the Kilkerran I had recently than a speysider.

 Palate: Ah the abv hurts. Less interesting on the tongue I think. More ‘direct’ than the nose. Some spiritiness is apparent but comes back with some light indistinct herbals, clean earth. Lots of malt and white wood. Natural and clean. No complaints. The makings of a great future whisky.

 Finish: Medium short. Malt, clean earth, some herbaceous notes. Bit of tonic.

Rather good and I feel there’s much more going on than many other similar young naked whiskies.

Miltonduff 7 yo 2006/2014 Krugers No.12 64.8%

 Nose: A frightening 64.8% and 7 years old. Such whiskies had better be sherry monsters or peat beasts. Nosing this now .. Ouch but ok.. lots of wood and tannins as expected, but pleasurable – more of a scented wood like cedar. Huge sherry influence. Massive. Dried red and purple fruit pureed with soy sauce and a teaspoon of tar, but saved from being monodimensional by a thick musty-sweet woody herb like rosemary. The typical kind of good sherry. And this one is really all about the oloroso or PX.

 Palate: Lots of sweet tobacco, cocoa powder, all sorts of dark and rich dried fruit, soy sauce. So clearly thick sherry. cedar wood, wood tannins. But also rahter hot and boisterous. clearly young, getting hotter and hotter and very bright.

 Finish: Rather long, and quite flavoursome – sherry all the way – but also spirity.

Massive first full sherry does make tasty whisky out of almost any distillate.