Review by: Raygun

A group of us put together a little homemade Advent calendar. Been a while since Christmas, but life happens. Have a few reviews from that collection to organize and post. Here’s one. 

The second Rare Malts sample in this Advent lineup, and a true rarity. Millburn closed down in 1985. My first time trying this dead distillery. As with many older bottlings, there is no cask information. Initially sampled blind, with additions after the reveal (months later in this instance) in italics. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.

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Distillery: Millburn    

Bottler: Millburn/Diageo

Region/style: Highlands single malt Scotch  

ABV: 58.9%. Cask strength. 

Age: 18 years

Cask type: Not stated, but I would bet bourbon.

Color: 1.0 deep copper. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: A touch coastal, and a little swimming pool. More than a little, in fact. Get some oak, but nothing major. Not especially fruity. There’s something oddly pungent. Like something that’s gone off. Even months later, it’s still very strong and aggressive, with major horseradish.     

Palate: Oh my god, what is this? It’s so weird, and I was totally unprepared from the nose. Tastes like mustard, curry leaves, and horseradish. There’s a sweetness to it, but it’s so, so pungent. Some chili spice as well. A little sweeter with water, but it doesn’t do much about the weird pungency. No, it hasn’t changed much. Mustard, curry leaves, and horseradish sums it up well. With water, some fruit comes out if I look for it.  

Finish: Not quite as bizarre. Some caramel and cookies, but still has curry leaves. Thai green curry. Are there green curry-flavored cookies? That would be close. Somewhat milder, but there’s still horseradish and swimming pool. Intense astringency. Even so, easier to deal with than the palate.

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Conclusion: Rare Malts bottles can be challenging, and this one sure is. I had a Dailuaine Rare Malts that had some wasabi, but that was nothing compared to this Millburn. Incredibly pungent, and while I could find some fruit behind the mustard and horseradish, I had to look pretty hard. One of the absolute weirdest Scotches I’ve ever had, and not in a particularly good way in my opinion. I struggled with this one hard, and in the end it won. Might appeal to those who like baijiu or just very bizarre Scotch. Not for me. On the bright side, I don’t need to chase old Millburn bottlings.

Score: 52

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)