2006 Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection Macduff 12 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Medium peated Macduff from a very active Oloroso cask and bottled near 60%. This behemoth will be one of the biggest whiskies of the year. Don't miss it.

If you've been enjoying single malts for decades but have never heard of Macduff, you're probably not alone. Founded in 1958 or 1962 (depending on your source) the rarely found Speysider has otherwise been marketed under the 'Glen Deveron' label. Located near the sea off the Moray Firth, it's now owned and run by Bacardi subsidiary, Dewars. With the house style tending towards fruity, sherry sweetness, Wilson & Morgan take Macduff on a very different trajectory: This is the first single cask of (medium) peated Macduff we've encountered, drawn from a very active first fill Oloroso barrel. If you like them big and brawny, this monster malt will be one of the highlights of your whisky year.

Tasting note: [20ml sample] The copper colour along with the very first sniffs anticipate a malt with a serious injection of sherry; Thick and meaty on the nose: Passing sulphur, walnut fudge, raisin cake and choc ripple cookie aromas break through the screen of oily peat. Touches of lanolin emerge. The phenols add a cocoa-like edge to the delivery, exploding on the tongue in a chewy, bittersweet attack of orange peel, raisin, prune, walnuts, old leather, dark chocolate and more. It's a beast of a dram in which oloroso battles with peat - the sherry just winning out. With or without water, you're in for quite a ride. Extremely limited. 57.1% Alc./Vol. 842 bottles.

Notes from the bottler.... A lovely Speysider with two very different souls: a sweet and creamy one that lures you in, and then the dry and winey one that keeps you intrigued forever… the result of maturation of a very sweet and fragrant single malt in a particularly active Oloroso sherry butt. The first impression at the nose is of pastries and crème brûlée: buttery, raisiny, with a note of toasted or caramelized sugar, very enticing. If you add water and nose carefully, though, a hint of acidity and wine already shows clearly. It’s just an anticipation of the dry sherry blast that awaits you at first sip: nutty, winey, very intense. But then, again, a sweetness of honey and candied oranges returns, and plays with the dryness. Wild and very complex!