Macduff
You would be forgiven if this isn’t the first destination you think about when visiting Scotland as Macduff is not a name on the tip of your tongue, this distillery was founded quite recently in the terms of distillery history, founded in 1962 by Marty Dyke, George Crawford and Brodie Hepburn the distillery first produced spirit in 1963.
Today the distillery is owned by John Dewar and Son ( Bacardi ) and has a capacity of around 3.3 million litres of alcohol per year from its 2 wash stills and 3 spirit stills.
Whisky from this distillery is generally released under the name of Glen Deveron but has also had releases under Royal Burgh, most of the whisky is blended into the William Lawson blend which a few years ago recorded a 75% increase in sales with sales hitting 34 million bottles sold.
Batch 6, 11 year old Macduff
Distillery.. Macduff
Region.. Speyside
Age.. 11 years
Abv.. 48%
Batch.. 6
Outturn.. 1,237 Bottles
Nose.. A delicate floral note runs alongside freshly peeled apples, warm apple pie along with a hint of apple strudel ( there’s a big hint of apples in here ) then comes along a digestive biscuit note that blends perfectly with waffles and syrup just begging to be eaten.. A hint of dried fruits lurk in the background with candied orange, pine needles and tobacco leaf.
Palate.. Lemon drizzle cake and a touch of bitterness from lemon peels leads straight into those apples, dried hay and soft fruit notes, add to this some soft spices and you have it in a nutshell..
Finish.. Fresh with lingering spices albeit they are soft.
Thoughts.. Interesting that we have two Macduff expressions within the calendar. Having gone back to the original one to contrast i kind of wonder why.. This release does feel a little sharper than the first and although there is a similar Dna running through this 11 year old now feels like the little brother.. Still a fine dram on its own but id personally hunt the newer release..
Sample taken from the 2020 That Boutique-y Whisky Advent Calendar..
As always don’t forget there will be an alternative view on this review over at THE DRAMBLE..
ocdwhisky.com 