Miltonduff 9 Year Old 2009 Cadenhead’s for The Finest Notes

We already know that the boys and girls of the club The Finest Notes have good taste. For their 10th anniversary they bottled a great Glen Keith. But how time flies: that was 5 years ago already. To celebrated their 15th anniversary, they found this young cask of Miltonduff in the warehouses at Cadenhead’s. The whisky matured on a bourbon cask from 2009 until 2015, but slept its final three years in a sherry hogshead. For me, this is my 20th encounter with this Speysider.

The nose is surprisingly soft and sweet and quite misleading from an ABV point of view. It does not feel like I am nosing an over 60% whisky. Very fruity, in fact. I get melons, oranges, apricots and mostly a truckload of softly baked apples with a good sprinkling of cinnamon. Some roasted almonds to boot. A lovely autumn nose, if you ask me. But adding water makes it very herbal, offering all kinds of plant scents on top.

You feel the ABV on the palate from the start. Feisty! And very spicy. The fruit is joined by some rhubarb marmalade and something that reminds me of plums. And suddenly it turns somewhat drying, but not disturbing at all. Lovely body. This is sticky. Diluted it remains equally sweet, but also offers up a green and mildly sour note.

The finish is very long, feisty and fades away soft and sweet. With water it is all about the spices.

Lovely autumn whisky that can take some water. Thanks, Marc. And congratulations with your cask selection!

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