Review by: The Muskox

It’s always a pleasure to visit the best whisky bar in town, moreso when I’m visiting with u/smoked_herring and friends. This was our first dram – we ended up killing off the bottle! This is also my very first Miltonduff. I’m getting quite the headstart on my new year’s resolution to try all the distilleries.

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Distillery: Miltonduff.

Bottler: Signatory Vintage.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 59%, cask strength.

Age: 19 years old. Distilled on 01/23/1978. Bottled on 02/14/1997.

Cask type: Cask #1683, Sherry Cask.

Color: Extremely dark red. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Plenty of sherry, but musty caramel is the real leading note here. Beyond are piles of orange peels, some macerated strawberries, plums, and bananas. Cola and milk chocolate-covered digestives. Orange pekoe with honey. There’s a musty character underneath – wet hay and old rug shops?

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives dry and spicy, with more orange peel, musty caramel, oatcakes, and hints of anise, grass, and Turkish Delight. Develops to charred oak, strong black tea, and hints of dunnage. Quite a bitter-herbal aperitif type of character – Campari and orange juice. Spice notes of pickled ginger, clove, and cinnamon.

Finish: Medium-length, fairly tannic. Lots more orange and that Campari note. Tobacco and cola. The spice note morphs into cardamom here. Chocolate dipped sponge toffee. More honeyed tea, beeswax if I squint. u/smoked_herring found red bell pepper here.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Negroni stain on an old Persian rug”

Notes: Good, but not great. With the tannins and spice and bittersweetness, it’s not so easy to love. I do like the spice complexity though.

Final Score: 83.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.