As much Macduff as possible Part Two


June 19, 2024

As much Macduff as possible, Part 2

Let's go, we're going in strong, with monsters. Kind monsters, hopefully.

Monsters sent by Satan to assault St Anthony (Rétable d'Issenheim, 15212-1516, Musée Unterlinden Colmar)

Macduff 11 yo 2012/2023 (64.5%, Dramfool, PX hogshead, cask #900262, 285 bottles)

Have you seen the strength? Alas, our lawyer is back on the golf course. Colour: gold. Nose: certainly vinous at first but not unpleasantly so, quite the opposite. Notes of old casks, dried raisins, and an old wine cellar, then honey steps in, followed by dried fruits, figs, and fruitcakes. Surprisingly 'gentle' given the strength. With water: a pecan pie drizzled with maple syrup, with a few saline touches. Mouth (neat): it hits the palate quite firmly, it must be said. Milk chocolate and sultanas are present, but apart from that, it's hectolitres of raw tutti-frutti eau-de-vie straight from the stills assaulting you. I think specific warning labels should be mandatory in such cases, at least 'highly flammable'. Well, maybe not... With water: very good, softer, focusing on dried fruits, with spices around pepper and cinnamon. A hint of ginger cookie. Finish: long, more peppery. Comments: really pleasant, even if you might need to have read 'How to Reduce Your Cask Strength Whisky' in three volumes (Maclean & Broom).
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Macduff 12 yo 2008/2021 (53.2%, Mercury’s Selection, Or Sileis, Taiwan, bourbon barrel, cask #700538, 214 bottles)

Colour: dark gold. Nose: I tend to favour this style, featuring ripe bananas, acacia honey, vanilla pods (a lot of vanilla pods), and very ripe mirabelles. With water: almost no change, except for a hint of English breakfast tea. Mouth (neat): very lovely fruitiness, mingled with grey pepper and beeswax. Quince jelly. With water: herbs and white nougat with pistachios, Earl Grey tea. Finish: medium length, gentle profile, with a touch of light earth and Paris mushrooms. Comments: a style I always associate with Balvenie ‘au naturel’. Don't dilute too much (refer to the aforementioned book).
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Attention, this book is a joke of ours, do not try to find it or to bother Charlie and Dave.

Macduff 10 yo 2008/2019 (60.6%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 2nd fill Bourbon barrel, #6.30, ‘A stealthy luncheon tipple’, 188 bottles)

No picture, but we tasked some AI with creating 'A stealthy luncheon tipple'. It was better in Queen Victoria's time, don't you think? Colour: pale white wine. Nose: rhubarb and apple juice, with a touch of barley syrup. I repeat, rhubarb and apple juice with barley syrup. With water: more barley syrup and a hint of lemonade. Mouth (neat): it's pleasant, quite alcoholic but also heavily leaning towards rose liqueur, Turkish delight, and those famous Haribo sweets we endlessly promote (where's the Merc? where is it?). With water: children's syrups, lemon, orange, strawberry, raspberry... Not bad, but we've outgrown it. Finish: medium length, with notes of pure saccharose, even aspartame. Is that allowed? Comments: we love refill casks, but here, we're close to stainless steel.
SGP:630 - 79 points.

Macduff 2008/2022 (53.1%, Liquid Art, 118 bottles)

Lovely label. Colour: straw. Nose: a delightful bourbon cask, with crushed banana and vanilla, as well as mango and papaya. Hard to top that. With water: beeswax. Mouth (neat): truly excellent, very tropical; more mango and banana, soft honey, a spoonful of pollen, mullein syrup, and a touch of caramelised popcorn. Pure indulgence, agreed. With water – theoretically, these profiles don’t change much: that’s right, just a hint of orange liqueur added. Finish: medium length, with oranges finally taking the lead. Comments: we could have almost rated it a bit higher. Let’s do it… Magnificent little honeyed ‘fruit bomb’.
SGP:641 - 87 points.

Macduff 10 yo 2011/2021 (67.7%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular for Or Sileis, Taiwan, refill butt, 660 bottles)

This one I really wanted to taste because the label made me laugh. The strength, a bit less so; we know ABVs can rise in certain parts of a warehouse, but this much? In ten years? Or has Macduff abandoned the 63.5% fill convention? Colour: pale gold. Nose: I wouldn’t say it’s verging on an assassination attempt, but it’s close. The worst part is, it’s a lovely nose, with pear and sweet herbs, honeysuckle, white clover… With water: vanilla, custard… Mouth (neat): Williams pear, grapefruit, and vanilla essence. Just a drop… With water: cream eggs, more Haribo’s stuff, Jell-O, little sugar Easter eggs… Finish: long, sweet, with candies and liqueurs. Wildflower honey in the aftertaste. Comments: so, friends, who is the lady on the label? Does she really exist?
SGP:641 - 85 points.

Macduff 14 yo 2003/2018 (60.3%, Fadandel, refill sherry butt, cask #900023, 542 bottles)

It was high time I tasted this one. It seems everyone has a Macduff at near-lethal ABVs, don’t they? Colour: straw. Nose: quite odd, with notes of truffle, gas, cabbage, and leeks, layered over the fruits somehow. This might be from the sherry, but it could also be a storage issue on our end, though I doubt it. Also, amusing notes of rose perfume. With water: that famous old matchbox with half the matches used. Mouth (neat): really quite odd, but great fun. Artichokes cooked in sweet wine, or something like that. With water: the best part, with nuts, oranges, and cardamom joining in. Finish: long, more peppery. Comments: this isn’t a classic style, but we had a lot of fun. Roses with truffle, that’s bold.
SGP:661 - 83 points.

Macduff 15 yo 2007/2023 (59.5%, Hunter Laing, The First Editions, refill hogshead, cask #HL 19903, 225 bottles)

Phew, we're under 60% ABV. Such consideration from Hunter Laing! A thousand thanks! Colour: pale white wine. Nose: vanilla, apples, pears, sunflower oil, biscuits, and sourdough bread. It's precise. With water: earthy touches, as often. A bit of paraffin oil, perhaps. Mouth (neat): perfect malt whisky with citrus and tart fruits (apples, etc.). Hints of pure barley sugar. Very simple and very good. With water: apple juice with honey. Hard to get simpler—and better. Finish: not immensely long, but with lovely freshness at this point. One could drink it! (of course...) Comments: we wish more of the big Speyside brands would offer bottlings au naturel like this (thinking of M., GF, GL, the other GF, B...)
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Macduff 10 yo 2011/2022 (52.5%, Jack Wiebers for Dead End Bar, sherry hogshead, 180 bottles)

For a famous bar in Aschaffenburg, Germany. It's not that far from WF Towers, actually; I'll have to visit. Colour: pure gold. Nose: here comes the polish, grandma's old copper kettle, old copper coins, classy fino, a sack of old nuts in a hessian bag, and rain-soaked soil... All things we appreciate. With water: superb bitter oranges and hints of Jamaican rum. I don't think you could do much better with a 10-year-old Macduff, there you have it. Mouth (neat): excellent, it was a great cask! Nocino, bitter oranges, polish, a touch of tobacco... With water: a hint of 7-Up, perhaps, but the nuts and old sultanas quickly put things back in place. Finish: long, jammy, yet salty and spicy. Comments: I swear, it tastes like a coastal malt. And are we sure it's only 10 years old?
SGP:662 - 87 points.

Macduff 10 yo 2011/2021 (59.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, sherry butt, cask #900003, 648 bottles)

Indeed, we are still running quite behind, and yes, we are rather ashamed. Colour: amber. Nose: quite a similar style, with beer bitters, old walnuts, leather, even a hint of horse dung, cigars, raw chocolate... With water: it leans more towards slightly burnt cake, kougelhopf, burnt walnuts... I quite like this, although it’s hardly summery, to say the least. Mouth (neat): a lot of paraffin from the start, this time. Charcoal, ink, bitter oranges, green pepper... With water: the oranges make a comeback, but a rather intense paraffin doesn't want to relinquish its place. Mint pastilles and a tiny soapy note. Finish: the same. Rubber touches. Comments: make no mistake, this is excellent, it’s just a tad more 'punk' than the others. It’s London, baby.
SGP:562 - 83 points.

Macduff 10 yo 2011/2022 (56.2%, Brave New Spirits, Cask Noir, 1st fill PX hogshead, cask #900352, ‘The Thane of Fife’ 385 bottles)

Of course, I have absolutely nothing against quirky names, as long as there’s an age and/or vintage. Colour: dark gold. Nose: the touches of rubber, gunpowder, and gas are infinitesimal. It’s more about lovely dried raisins leading the dance here, with chocolate, toffee, toasted nuts, and root vegetables, like... black radishes, precisely. With water: a bit lactic for a moment (buttercream, yoghurt) then more on ales and oxidative sweet wines. Mouth (neat): very lovely caramel, fudge, orange cake, café latte, sweet paprika, currants, it’s a nice PX, not too overwhelming. With water: more tense, almost a bit saline. Finish: quite long and, as often, a bit more earthy. Comments: another very good young Macduff.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Macduff 2012/2022 (58.1%, Riegger’s Selection, Amarone finish, cask #900021, 179 bottles)

All these casks numbered 900XXX most likely come from the same source. That said, Amarone, you had to be daring. I've always wondered why Italian oenophiles hate Amarone so much, and truth be told, I myself have difficulty swallowing it. Except, perhaps, in whisky. (no)... Colour: somewhere between partridge eye and onion skin. That already gives a hint. Nose: exhaust fumes, cherry wine, rubber (new hose), and walnut cake. I must say, I adore walnut cake. With water: cherry juice, Kriek beer, clafoutis. Mouth (neat): no, seriously, it works. It’s no longer whisky, but as I hoped, it’s the best way for me to enjoy Amarone. Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, maraschino, carrot juice, pumpkin cake... With water: dough, sourdough, pralines... But it's the cherry that stays in control. Finish: long, on cherry jam. Comments: it hardly has anything Scottish left, this little Macduff, but it's still very nice and amusing. On a Hawaiian pizza, perhaps?
SGP:651 - 81 points.

Macduff 9 yo 2012/2021 (57.7%, Asta Morris, ex-sherry, cask #AM 109, 220 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: brioche dough and muesli, butterscotch, shortbread, plus sultanas and a touch of polish. With water: it’s fine. Fresh croissants and hints of new elastic bands. A slight meaty side. Mouth (neat): it's good, more on citrus, but the sherry’s rubbery note remains. With water: the same, with more bitter orange. The rubber makes it a bit drying. Finish: medium length. Bitter oranges, bitters, Fernet-Branca, always a bit of rubber. Comments: not bad at all, but honestly, these young versions heavily marked by wine aren’t really indispensable whiskies, all bottlers considered. We know, prices and all...
SGP:651 - 83 points.

Well, we’re digging ourselves in a bit. What a notion it was to start a whisky blog all those years ago! Between you and me, we could only extricate ourselves from this little mess by trying some older Macduffs... There were some sublime official releases, a long time ago indeed...

Macduff 26 yo 1992/2018 (64.1%, The Golden Cask, cask #CM 251, 226 bottles)

But we're cursed! What’s this, 64% ABV at twenty-six years of age? Well, we remember a sublime old Caol Ila from The Golden Cask that we tasted recently. So, hope remains very much alive. Colour: gold. Nose: of course. Old copper, polishes, beeswax, old white wines, mead, vanilla cakes, pears poached in Sauternes, all at 64% ABV. Blimey. With water: the pear stays at the forefront. Simply Williams pear eau-de-vie. Mouth (neat): a bit crazy, chemical, acidic, herbaceous, improbable. I think it needs water, pronto. With water: it flounders a bit, between rubber and pear, then grapefruits, both juice and zest. Finish: very long, more herbaceous, and more on zests. The rubber is still there. Comments: that darn rubber is a bit of a mess.
SGP: 461 - 84 points.

We'll go back to the 1980s for our very last Macduff in a long time. Are we good?

Macduff 31 yo 1980/2012 (50%, Single Cask Collection, sherry hogshead, cask #6900, 191 bottles)

A version from our friends in Austria. I hope they are well! Colour: golden. Nose: yes, that's it, the ingredient of time comes into play, making this much more complex, with little oils and waxes, overripe apples, pollen of all colours, plum and cherry stones, stewed peaches, very ripe bananas… You can do whatever you want, whether you're Diageo, Pernod, or anyone else, no white-collar worker will ever replace time. With water: superb almonds, pistachios, and macadamia nuts. Mouth (neat): absolutely beautiful, with almonds, orgeat, last year's apples, almonds again (I insist), honey, waxes… It doesn’t matter, it’s perfect. With water: a very old Meursault. I have a fondness for old Meursaults, alas they have become unaffordable. Finish: medium length but with a perfect honeyed and waxy balance. More herbal notes, even with a touch of tar liqueur. Comments: many philosophers, from the ancient Greeks onwards, have written about the importance of time. It's not going to be a few Scots on a binge who will question three thousand years of human history, just to make a bit more money (sorry, yes, I know I'm exaggerating, of course we still love you anyway...).
SGP:561 - 90 points.

I'll repeat it nonetheless: beyond the places and the people who inhabit them, the magic of whisky lies in time. Without time, whisky has no interest or value. When you see a crystal decanter worth £3,000 containing a NAS whisky, you weep, it is becoming so un-chic.

Check the index of all Macduff we've tasted so far