Review by: Raygun

Next up in a mini-series of Millburns, courtesy of a bottle split from a friend. Millburn closed down in 1985 and has since been torn down, so it won’t be coming back. My first Millburn experience was not pleasant, but the last couple of tried have given me a lot more faith in the distillery. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 20 minutes.

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Distillery: Millburn

Bottler: Signatory Vintage  

Region/style: Highlands single malt Scotch 

ABV: 60.1%. Cask strength.

Age: 16 years. Distilled on March 31, 1979 and bottled in May 1995. 

Cask type: [Sherry?] butt #1102, 308 bottles

Color: 1.3 russet. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Strongly oaky, smelling older than its age. Very boozy, too. Then there’s orange, chocolate, cream, and a touch of figs. I was wondering if it really came from a butt, because 308 would be a very low bottle count after just 16 years, but I’m getting more persuaded. Pungency comes out with water.                    

Palate: Quite hot, and a good shot of the mustard/horseradish I’ve come to identify with Millburn. This will need some water to shine I think.  Caramel, apricots, prune danish, and something reminding me of curry. Curry leaves in particular. Excellent, rich mouthfeel. Somehow gets even spicier with water. Picking up some ginger and currants. More citrus, too. Refill sherry seems very plausible. 

Finish: Sweet and spicy/pungent. Mustard and curry leaves, prune danish, dulce de leche, orange, apricot, and fenugreek. There’s a lot here. Definite heat. Kind of a strange combination of flavors, but not discordant. The spice is very present, but doesn’t dominate entirely. 

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Conclusion: Millburn is never boring in my limited experience. This one is very upfront with the mustard/curry leaf flavor and demands tolerance for that sort of pungency. However, it rewards with some nice caramel and fruit flavors. I wouldn’t call it balanced exactly, but it’s not only weird. Does need some water to calm down and benefits from air time as well. Then it becomes a very interesting, albeit still challenging, pour. The Cadenhead’s from earlier is still the winner for me from this group. I’d have liked the spice toned down a little more in this one.

Score: 84

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)