A few Macduff. Twelve, actually


February 13, 2025

A few Macduff. Twelve, actually

We have some recent independent Macduff bottlings, so let’s also take the opportunity to taste some older versions from the WF library. Just a reminder: Macduff is absolutely not a blend or a teaspooning of Macallan and Miltonduff. Sometimes, you just have to try and have a laugh with a few corny jokes, right? … I should add that today we won’t have any other malts synonymous with Macduff, such as The Deveron/Glen Deveron.

Macduff Distillery (Anne Burgess, geograph)

Macduff 12 yo 2011/2024 (48%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Reserve Casks, Elixir Distillers, US exclusive, sherry butts, 3 casks)

Colour: light gold. Nose: quite a bit of flint and slightly tart apple, damp earth, strawberry yoghurt, then increasingly more passion fruit, though not all excessively ripe, but all softened by a touch of barley syrup. It’s coherent and rather refreshing on the nose, which we appreciate. Mouth: malty and sweet, with slightly more pronounced sherry on the palate (the usual walnut cakes), then becoming increasingly herbal and lemony, with a tension that makes it rather lively and chiselled – again, we like that. Finish: fairly long, with the return of tart little apples, though also some acacia honey to soothe it all. Comments: a lovely assemblage which, all in all, also displays a youthful Calvados-like side.
SGP:561 - 85 points.

Macduff 12 yo 2009/2021 (55.3%, Timeless & Tasty, Women of Hong Kong, 7th Anniversary Whiskies & More, barrel)

A lovely label highlighting the comic book culture of Hong Kong and neighbouring countries. Colour: white wine. Nose: naturally close to the TSMOS, just a little rounder, likely due to a more active barrel. Wild apples, damp chalk, kiwi, lemon tart (with meringue, as always) and a touch of mango sorbet. Nothing to fault. With water: the chalk stands out, along with hints of fresh cement and plaster, much like a very young white Burgundy. Mouth (neat): very fruity, with similar notes, rather tight and refreshing. A touch of pink pepper. With water: this time it rounds out a little, becoming more indulgent. Finish: vanilla cream and lemon, with ripe mango lingering on the back palate. Comments: great aromatic clarity, simple yet very, very good.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

These Macduffs may not have the character of a Springbank or a Brora, but they are lovely, very classic malts. Let’s carry on…

Macduff 16 yo 2007 (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, 100 Proof Exceptional Cask, 1st fill oloroso butt)

Colour: gold. Nose: wafts of natural rubber, much like in similar Macduffs, though here it then moves towards leather, menthol and cigars, followed by roasted almonds and very dark chocolate. A touch of thyme honey. With water: hints of roasted chestnuts and still a touch of natural rubber. Mouth (neat): very rich, creamy, softer and fruitier than on the nose, mainly on orange marmalade. Then the return of pipe tobacco, chocolate-coated prunes, eau-de-vie and Corinth raisins. With water: even softer, more honeyed, almost liqueur-like. It almost leans more towards moscatel than oloroso, yet remains well-balanced. Finish: long, still jammy, with those unmistakable prunes making a return, along with a hint of coriander seed. Tobacco lingers on the aftertaste. Comments: the counterpart to the lovely Hong Kong bottling.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Macduff 2007/2019 (46%, Scyfion Choice, Ukraine, Apatsagi Pinot Noir finish, 160 bottles)

It is with sadness that we shall call this one a ‘pre-war Ukrainian bottling’. Apatsagi Pinot Noir (apologies for the missing accents) is a renowned Hungarian wine of great reputation. But beware, Pinot Noir can be very, very invasive in whisky… Apparently, ‘apatsagi’ means ‘abbey’. Colour: gold. Nose: no wild hare’s belly, blackcurrants, rampant cherries, civet cat or woodland mushrooms—this is much rounder, honeyed, malty, with fudge, butter caramel, and even peanut butter… Mouth: initial hints of strawberry sweets, then increasingly towards candied cherries (there we go!) and poached pear in red wine, with touches of juniper and a faint trace of rubber. But the malt holds its ground. Finish: good length, on similar notes. Blood oranges and unmistakable red wine in the aftertaste. Comments: one might guess this came from Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto). In any case, a superb and ‘different’ Macduff—long live Ukraine!
SGP:641 - 85 points.

Macduff 8 yo 2012/2020 (58%, Asta Morris, sherry cask, cask #AM020, 233 bottles)

The frog returns! Strangely enough, we’ve already tasted its older cousin, a 9 yo 2012/2021. What chaos over at WF! Colour: light gold. Nose: heavy on praline, maple syrup, nougat, and toffee, with a touch of dark beer and stock. Think carbonnade flamande! (a top-tier Belgian dish we love, right after shrimp croquettes, of course). With water: fully towards malt, apples, prunes, wax, and bread dough… Mouth (neat): peppery and spicy power after a softer arrival, with caramel and even milk chocolate. Bitter oranges, turmeric, a saline touch. With water: beautifully balanced, everything clicks, and the water nearly works miracles on this young Macduff. Finish: long, delightfully herbal, on bitter beer and then honey. Comments: a lovely little beast, I really like it. Looking back at my notes for its older cousin, the younger one seems better. Long live youth! (come on, S.)
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Macduff 1990/2009 (53.1%, Malts of Scotland, sherry hogshead, cask #1423, 124 bottles)

Yes, very late once again. Colour: amber. Nose: a rather surprising touch of varnish and bourbon at first, then walnut and honey cake with plenty of dried raisins of various kinds. With water: lovely old Madeira notes. Mouth (neat): rich, slightly herbal (chartreuse, absinthe), yet above all very honeyed and peppery. With water: excellent. Magnificent peppers, broths, orange zest, chen-pi, black tea with salted butter (granted, an acquired taste) … Finish: long, very elegant. Fig jam, teriyaki, dried raisins, beef jerky, Japanese sweet sauce (there must be a name for it!). Comments: this one comes as a bit of a surprise. It’s not impossible there’s already some positive OBE in play—it certainly feels like it.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

You may have noticed that while independent bottlers write the name as either Macduff or MacDuff, we have chosen the simplest version.

Macduff 11 yo 2000/2012 (48.2%, Archives, refill sherry, cask #5803, 90 bottles)

Here too, there may already be some OBE. You’ll have noticed, this was still the pre-animal label. Colour: light gold. Nose: Nescafé and roasted malt, a touch of yeast, mead, then some black earth. Subtle notes of leather and, well, Marlboro. While lit and smoked cigarettes have made no sense to us for about twenty years, but the aroma of a freshly opened pack remains absolutely extraordinary. Mouth: I think there’s a bit of OBE. It’s tertiary, yeasty, spicy, veering towards rum and tequila, but also old Banyuls or any rancio-style wine from Catalonia, whether French, or Spanish… Very elegant. Finish: long, on freshly ground pepper, orange peel, and linden honey. A touch of old Highland Park, yes! Comments: excellent.
SGP:661 - 88 points.

The topic of ageing and the improvement of spirits in the bottle is certainly controversial, but I am increasingly convinced that it is significant. Until now, the extraordinary quality of old bottlings simply led us to assume that one of the reasons, though not obligatorily the biggest one, was that they had improved with age in the bottle, much like eaux-de-vie stored in demijohns or stoneware. However, we never tasted them at the time they were introduced to the market—take, for example, the Laphroaigs from the 1960s and 70s.
Now that we are beginning to taste malts that we had already sampled and documented 25 or 30 years ago (how time flies!) and noticing some rather incredible improvements—particularly in the development and complexity of aromas—we are increasingly certain of this phenomenon. This is something that Silvano Samaroli had already asserted, as he had remarkable hindsight. Let’s move on…

Macduff 11 yo 2008/2019 (52.1%, Whisky Passion for Spirits Salon, Taiwan, octave, cask #58224)

The Taiwanese whisky and spirits scene remains incredibly active—bravo to them all. Colour: gold. Nose: you can feel the octave boost, with sunflower and hazelnut oils, then windfallen old apples and a leafy, damp forest floor with moss and humus. Very nice. With water: it remains a well-mannered and discreet octave, with no ‘plank’ effect—more like coffee. Mouth (neat): definitely boosted now, with roasted notes and Ovaltine, layered over an already very toasted malt character. Again, a subtle earthy note (or aged Pu-erh tea) helps to balance everything. Some maraschino too. With water: no major changes. Finish: long, even maltier, with toasted notes and dark beer. That faint earthy side returns in the aftertaste. Comments: a very lovely octave.
SGP:561 - 86 points.

Macduff 11 yo 2000/2011 (54.8%, Whisky-Doris, refill sherry butt, 246 bottles)

One of the coolest and most charming independent German bottlers out there. Alles immer ausgezeichnet. Colour: gold. Nose: there’s more action in this one—paint and mangoes, for instance, pine buds, rust, honey, and fresh concrete… It may seem a bit chaotic, but that’s exactly what makes it interesting here. With water: a hint of freshly cut grass and a couple of spent matches. Mouth (neat): quite a bit of gunpowder and plenty of pepper. A bit tricky, but let’s see what water does… With water: the black pepper and burnt sulphur notes remain fairly prominent, though not to the point of being a major issue. Finish: long, more honeyed, leaning towards orange liqueur. Very pleasant. Comments: a bit of a Janus whisky, but we really like it.
SGP:662 - 83 points.

Let’s stay in Germany…

Macduff 2000/2010 (58.7%, Reifferscheid, Romantic Rhine Collection, sherry octave, 95 bottles)

The Remagen Bridge on the label. Eighty years later, this historical reference has likely lost some of its impact, but history enthusiasts can always look it up online. Colour: gold. Nose: similar in style to the Whisky-Doris, though the gunpowder and shoe polish notes are even more pronounced. History has embedded itself in this malt! With water: old metals and beef broth. Mouth (neat): much the same. Orange liqueur, black pepper, and truffle. With water: slightly rebalanced thanks to the orange liqueur. Finish: long, packed with shoe polish and black pepper, layered over pancake syrup and molasses. Comments: truly surprising—and as an Alsatian, tasting this one in February 2025 makes it feel even stranger. But it’s a good malt.
SGP:462 - 81 points.

While we're at it, let’s go to Austria…

Macduff 12 yo 2007/2019 (47%, Single Cask Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #11270, 374 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: back to the fruity and lighter Macduffs, which, after all, is meant to be the distillery’s style, as evidenced by the official Deverons. Apples, peaches, plums, cassata, and muesli, followed by dandelion and mullein flowers. Impeccable. Mouth: beautifully fruity, again on apples and plums, coated in wildflower honey. Lovely texture, with a touch of beeswax. Finish: medium length but wonderfully honeyed and fruity, with a faint malty touch keeping the structure in check. You know what I mean. Comments: this style is found in many young Speyside malts, provided the casks and their previous contents have left them undisturbed. Here, everything has gone like clockwork.
SGP:641 - 86 points.

Well, let’s wrap this up with an older Macduff from a series we were very fond of back in the day…

Macduff 37 yo 1973/2010 (46%, Mo Or collection, bourbon hogshead, release #22, 281 bottles)

I believe this is one of the last Mo Or releases we had yet to taste. Right then, let’s put on Aladdin Sane (also from 1973) and get into it… Colour: deep gold. Nose: well, this is the winner, as expected. Of course, there’s the age, the quality of this series, but also the vintage. The early 1970s on the mainland gave us malts with a bold, complex character—almost as if the finest winemakers had collaborated with the distillers. Quite incredible, 1970-1974… Whereas on the islands, it was more the previous decade, though that’s not an absolute rule. Anyway, honeys, grand Chardonnays, waxes, precious polishes, old leathers, floral wines (think dandelion), and a quince tarte tatin. But what a ****ing nose! Where has this style gone? Mouth: oh my! Sublime white wines from all the great regions, plus floral and citrus liqueurs. The beeswax continues to frame it all with the elegance and nonchalance of a well-fed cheetah (all good, S.?). Finish: beautifully long, sublimely waxy, with notes of quince, apples, and overripe pears. Sublime chalky and medicinal hints in the background. Comments: at the time, the 50cl bottle and 46% ABV may have caused some hesitation, but personally, I now regret not having bought a case or three of this marvel. After all, I’m only fifteen years late. What a beauty.
SGP:5661 - 93 points.

STOP—we have a little bonus! Sometimes, a new whisky arrives just as we’ve wrapped up a tasting from the same distillery, and if we can, we add it to the session—just like here…

Macduff 21 yo 2003/2024 (58%, Berry Bros. & Rudd for The Whisky Exchange, sherry butt, cask #900025, 358 bottles)

A rather lightly marked sherry, judging by the colour—though these can sometimes be deceptive. Colour: gold. Nose: a well-balanced mix of bright citrusy fruit, a certain oiliness and weight from the distillate, and a rather subtle sherry influence that brings in walnuts and just a couple of raisins. With water: plenty of fresh bread and small aniseed biscuits, with a touch of orange blossom water and mint tea. A Moroccan feel. Mouth (neat): sharp and direct, slightly saline like a Manzanilla, then apples and pepper. With water: now it fully unfolds, with white pepper, white fruits, a few edible flowers (borage, nasturtium), and a hint of turmeric. Finish: rather long, quite taut and spicy. Ginger and Thai basil. Comments: great firmness in this Macduff, pleasantly authoritative. All in all, very much in tune with the times. Right.
SGP:461 - 86 points.

By the way, fingers crossed for our friends at Berry Bros.! Hugs!

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