Macduff 25 yo 1984 
(55%, Kintra 2009, cask CM143, 60 btl.)

Nose: malty / fruity with apple, vanilla and almonds. Initially there’s also a vegetal side to it, but this seems to disappear after a while. Some fresh oak. Develops further when you add a little water. Gets slightly flowery and brings out vanilla cake. A little leather. Mouth: nice body, very fruity – mainly citrus (tangerine, lemon). Cinnamon and soft pepper. A little herbal tea, which grows stronger over time. Slightly grassy towards the end. Finish: quite long and drying with spices and herbal notes.

This Macduff 25yo is a nice dram that unfolds itself in different ways if you wait long enough and add some water. It reminds me a lot (a lot!) of the Thosop bottling. If it’s not the same whisky, then it’s certainly a closely related sister cask.
Around € 90.

Score: 86/100

Macduff 25 yo 1984 (54,9%, Thosop 2009, Bourbon cask, 120 btl.)

Nose: malty and fresh. Quite some clean oak (hints of paper and almonds as well). Tonic with a dash of lemon. Nice mix of fruity and drier notes. A very good swimmer - water brings out flowers, apricot marmalade and vanilla cupcakes. The longer you let it breathe, the more fruity it gets (pears). Mouth: fruity with some herbal notes and hints of camomile tea. Some pepper in the back. Add a little vanilla and tiny hints of sweet lemons and oranges. With water: more wood and a little milk chocolate. Some liquorice as well. Finish: pleasantly warm and quite long. Spicy, still reminds me of herbal tea.

Take your time and enjoy. There’s a lot in this Macduff 1984 that you won’t pick up in a first of second impression. A challenging dram with different layers. Remember to add water as well. Around € 70.

Score: 86/100

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

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

We’re now tasting an exclusive Macduff 2000 bottled exclusively for our Belgian retailer The Exclusive Bonding Dram. It was chosen from a series of cask samples by founder Jeroen and a team of Bonding Dram enthusiasts. It’s bottled at cask strength and presented in a nicely designed box.

Macduff 10 yo 2000 (56,5%, Creative Whisky Co. for The Bonding Dram, sherry butt #3525, 200 btl.)

Nose: juicy start with cooked fruits and tinned fruits on syrup. Then slowly growing spicier (mainly cinnamon) with some Mexican chocolate disks. Gingerbread cake. Some nutty aromas and raisins. Baked apples. A lovely sherry profile. Water makes it slightly more fragrant and brings out oranges. Mouth: good attack, sweet, now with the same spices really up front. A light peppery prickle. Rum & raisins, figs, prunes. Also fresher fruits (berries and apples). Nice, and best without water. Finish: long and spicy with some Mon Cherie notes.

Available from The Bonding Dram for € 50. Great price / quality – recommended if you’re into fresh and juicy sherry. You can also buy a sample if you want to try it.

Score: 89/100