Macduff distillery is one of the younger plants in Scotland. It was built during the whisky boom of the 1960’s, specifically to produce malt for blends. It’s rarely released as a single malt. There is one official release (10yo) with the name Glen Deveron (from the name of the founding company) but independent releases are usually named Macduff. It’s currently owned by Bacardi / Dewar’s.
This 18 year-old Macduff 1990 was bottled in March 2009 by the new German brand Malts of Scotland. It was matured in a sherry hogshead.
Macduff 18yo 1990 (53,1%, Malts of Scotland 2009, cask #1423, 124 btl.)
Nose: obviously from an active cask, probably first-fill. It’s a mix of raisins, dry figs, oranges, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, caramel… Hints of sweet & sour sauce. A bit dusty as well, with a few organic notes. Maybe not completely free of rubbery notes, but they disappear.
Mouth: heavy sherry impact with chocolate, coffee, pear syrup. Raisins. Minty edge.
Finish: not too long, on dark cherries and dark chocolate. Drying oak.
This one is for sherry lovers only, but in its genre it’s really nice. You don’t seem to find many good Macduffs recently, but here you have one. Available on the German market for around € 70.
Score: 86/100