Whisky enthusiasts on a budget have probably noticed a couple of Macduff 2000 releases that stood out in the Malt Maniacs Awards 2011 (like the one for The Bonding Dram). They pop up everywhere nowadays: Creative Whisky Co., Dewar Rattray, Berry Bros. to name just a few.

This one was bottled in the The Dram series by Whisky-Doris.

Macduff 10 yo 2000 (50%, Whisky-Doris ‘The Dram’ 2011, dark sherry butt, 120 btl.)

Nose: a dry and chocolaty Macduff. Milk chocolate up front, followed by oranges, apples and raisins. Some nutty notes (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts) and spicy honey. Leather. Noticeable hints of matchsticks and gunpowder. Quite attractive, heavily sherried but not overdone. Mouth: good attack with a spicy prickle and some mineral notes. Still quite some chocolate notes and currants. Pepper. A little toffee. Gets drier, winier and more coastal towards the end, with a dark (roasted / smoky) touch.  Finish: rather long. Dark chocolate with hints of coffee and cloves.

This heavily sherried but juicy Macduff has quite a few dark notes (I couldn’t stop thinking of Karuizawa at some point). Should be a perfect companion for a high quality chocolate mousse. Very affordable: around € 45.

Score: 86/100