23/06/2025 Was 1978 a duff year?

Macduff 17yo 1978/1996 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Sherry Butt, C#6643, 1320b, b#79, 96/1247): nose: dusty coffee beans, dried-out old tyres and cereal dust. It is an old miniature, of course. Also, I would be surprised if this was not from a Sherry cask (oh! it is). Deeper nosing reveals a dusty Moka pot, which is to say tin, but also oxidised zinc and old copper coins. Perhaps this has faint brine and a drop of one varnish or another. Even later, there is a whiff of rusty metal, possibly gardening or farming tools, rusty and stained with earth. The second nose is more incisive, with rubbing alcohol. Mind you, it also showcases old cardboard and burnt-hazelwood gratings cooling on stone-floor tiles. Mouth: surprisingly sweet, with lozenges, crystallised sugar and boiled sweets -- a mix of crystallised orange segments and faded Mokatine. All of that is rather ancient, faded and dusty. Looking for it with purpose, one may detect oxidised tin (tin-knife blade, to be precise), but the palate is mostly sweetish, really. The second sip is a little bolder, especially when it comes to the sweetness, yet it does not deviate much: caramel, toffee, mocha sweets, all dusty. Finish: quite narrow and thin, the finish too is a display of faded Mokatine sweets. Wherther's Originals, hardened toffee, dusty fudge. Repeated quaffing merely increases the perception of alcohol. Not in a negative way! It just seems to hit the gob more strongly. The honey-coloured wood of a rustic armchair, a pot of lukewarm mocha on a wooden coffee table, and faded sweets in a dusty bowl. Perhaps fudge comes into focus more and more, as this takes on buttery notes towards the death. Simple and efficient dram. 7/10

Miltonduff 21yo 1978/1999 (59.2%, Signatory Vintage, Sherry Cask, C#1685, 620b, b#350, 99/122): nose: this is even more metallic, with a pouchful of copper coin, brass buttons and old, oxidised medals. Behind that is what appears to be fierce alcohol ready to jump at one and slap one in the face. This could be a Moka pot used to boil water, and a drop of white vinegar to clean it. In the same spirit (pun intended), we spot a drop of lemon juice on a tin plate  -- a tin plate that becomes dustier and dustier with each minute. That is accompanied by citrus foliage, initially lemon and lime going on orange and bergamot. In the background, the insistent noser may detect a veil of earth so dry it comes close to dust or desert dirt. The second nose has wood dust and flowers in a vase, drying, yet still releasing some fragrance and nectar in the hope of attracting one last pollinator. Mouth: thick citrus juice without the biting acidity at first, and certainly little sweetness, even if that makes little sense on paper. Soon, it has a lush nutty woodiness, wide, noble, and softly bitter. It is wood that is glazed with a marmalade and some wax to keep it from tipping over into unpleasantly-bitter territory. It is also warm and numbing, despite the ABV being well controlled. Hard to imagine anyone guessing it correctly. The second sip sees worked leather, hardened suede, and a dollop of honey or marmalade with a dusting of sawdust. Finish: long and warming, welcoming, here are more (hot) marmalade and polished old wood, crystallised sweets and a nutty lick, all of which bring a clear, balanced bitterness to a finish that is otherwise fruitier than the nose and palate. The second gulp is very much in line, perhaps more furniture polish, and it adds oily green hazelnuts. In the long run, wood spices rally: we see ground ginger, grated nutmeg and dried lemongrass. Ground cloves? Very little of that, if any. This is pretty good too. 7/10

Sadly, no Dufftown d.1978 to make it a triplet.
Happy birthday, CD! (who is not from 1978)

16/06/2025 Strathmill

Strathmill 11yo 1985/1997 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Cask, C#2342, 2460b, b#95, 97/617): nose: oh! it is a lovely dusty one, with old fruits, dried and chewy. Dried apple slices, dust-covered easy-peelers, and a pinch of ground white pepper. It is far from a peppery nose, yet it displays a softly-spicy touch. It has got a fresh kick too, minty, somewhat leafy -- laurel and olive-tree leaves. The nose becomes bolder as it parades strawberry foliage on a wooden board. The second nose adds hardened raisins, or prunes splashed with ink. An odd combination augmented with white-wood shavings and one preserved cherry -- unless it is a bunch of dark grapes. Mouth: urgh! Very bitter, borderline shampoo-y, this takes a few seconds to feel more welcoming. Fortunately, enduring the pain for that short time seems enough: soon, we are treated to crystallised orange segments, crushed clove, and the most subtle violet sweets. The initial bitterness never truly disappears, but it is quickly reduced to a vaguely-earthy note -- mushrooms, mulch. The second sip is still as difficult upon entry, and it is with a huge relief that the bitterness comes back down, leaving citrus peels, cassia bark and ground clove. A cold mulled wine, in a way. Finish: sweet as hard-candy, it is not violet, here, so much as liquorice. Oh! it is far from offensive; merely a root-y type of earthy sweetness. This finish leaves the mouth throbbing gently as would a camphor-flavoured mouthwash. Unusual, but not without merit. The second gulp feels more traditional: woody and creamy, it has a little fruit too, whether that is squashed strawberries or black-cherry jam. It has an unexpected pinch of grated medicine tablet (Zyma Fluor comes to mind), which brings us back in the bitter realm, albeit one that is tolerable. It is alright, this. 6/10

13/06/2025 Old Fettercairn

Old Fettercairn 10yo (43%, OB, L4165G1): nose: a typical Fettercairn, which is to say: a bit bizarre. It has brine, pickled gherkins, cardboard, and some farm-y aspects too -- a mound of muck drying in the summer sun. Cardboard soon takes the lead, and it is complemented by billowing cigar smoke. With a few minutes of breathing, that morphs into ink-stained blush oranges, also wrapped in smoke, and a touch of strawberry chewing gum. Just how weird can this be. eh? The second nose is drier. It exhibits a bunch of dried flowers (carnations and lunaria) and woven straw upholstery from a smoker's house. In the long run, we might even spot a desert-dry hand-soap bar, or the beige leather interior of a 1970s car that belonged to a smoker. Even the label colour points towards that! Mouth: briny cardboard it is! Peach juice tainted with a mix of cork and smoky cardboard. It has ashes of burnt paper, ground peach stone in the fruit's juice, bone-dry leather, still attached to the carcass of an animal dead in the desert for weeks, and the bitterness of very-dry blush-orange zest. There is a tame spiciness too, probably ground mace or amchur. The second sip starts off juicy, yet that is quickly matched by this peculiar mix of brine-soaked straw, dried zest, and desiccating spice powder. Here too, the feeling is 1970s, when everything was beige and faded orange, because everyone smoked absolutely everywhere. Finish: gentle and fruity for a second, it resumes its strange ways quickly: cardboard, dried zest, cork shavings, coarse white pepper, and brine. It leaves the tongue dry and slightly stripped. The second gulp has a drop of chocolate milk, when one gives way to one's imagination, yet it remains largely the same: zest, brine-stained cardboard, and ground spices. Never a dull day, with this distillery! It must have its afficionados, yet it is easy to see this being pretty divisive. 6/10 (Thanks GN)