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KWM 2021 Whisky Calendar Day 23: TBWC Macduff 10 Year Old

Posted on December 27, 2021

by Evan

We are on the eve of Christmas Eve, and we are going Boutiquey on last time for Day 23 of the 2021 KWM Whisky Calendar. This time we are off to the Highlands to check out a Macduff! Today's bottle is That Boutique-y Whisky Company Macduff Bach 4 - 10 Year Old.

Macduff Distillery was founded only around 60 years ago back in 1960 and Resides near the mouth of the River Deveron near where it empties into the North Sea. That puts it in the Highlands, just north and east of Speyside. Its nearest distillery neighbours include Glenglassaugh Distillery which is about a 20-minute drive to the west along the A98 as well as Knockdhu Distillery which is about a 25-minute drive to the south and west if you start on the A98 and then connect to the A95. 

Like Knockdhu Distillery which is bottled under the name anCnoc, Macduff does not have official bottlings under the same name. Instead, it is bottled under the monikers The Deveron and Glen Deveron by owners John Dewar & Sons / Bacardi. 

The Deveron line of whisky makes a portion up what Dewar's / Bacardi calls once referred to as The Last Great Malts lineup, though this may be in the process of changing. This range is composed of Single Malt Scotch from the five Scottish distilleries owned by the company. Beyond Macduff, Dewar's / Bacardi also owns the Aberfeldy, Royal Brackla, Craigellachie, and Aultmore Distilleries.

One thing that is definitely in the middle of a change is the look of the packaging for Macduff Distillery's Deveron bottles. They are going to be changing from the cool-looking green sea glass style bottles we have right now:

... To whatever the heck this is:

I will miss the old bottle look. My offhand guess is that the green sea glass bottle was a victim of Covid - there have been quite a few brands in the whisky, wine and spirits world that have had bottling delays due to glass shortages because the few factories that made the bottles were out of production for a while and have been unable to keep up with demand. Moving to a more standard clear bottle probably not only saves money but is also easier to source.

Whether you love or hate the new look, at least we can all agree it is good to see Macduff from independent bottlers like That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Shall we give this one a try?

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch 8 - 10 Year Old - 50.2%

Label Notes from TBWC

"The Macduff distillery was founded in the 1960s and is kitted out with five stills, four of which have lyne arms that are rather oddly arranged, with one of the wash stills’ lyne arms being U-shaped too, just so they’ll all fit in the still room! They don’t release whisky themselves under their own name - they release it under the name The Deveron. This is why the name Macduff might be more familiar to you from Shakespeare’s play, ‘Macbeth’. We’ve even put one of the deleted scenes from the play on the label of our Macduff bottling. Press the stopper down to hear the director’s commentary from Shakespeare himself (probably a lie)."

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Just nosing this might give you cavities. Brown sugar, right from the bag as you pour it from the measuring device into your mixing bowl. Also raisin butter tarts, honey lozenges, applesauce, and waffles with syrup (or rather syrup with waffles in this case).

Palate: Salted butterscotch, cinnamon rolls, apple cider, raisins and dates, honey graham crackers, honey roasted peanuts and black pepper.

Finish: Sweet and long and stuck to my teeth.

Comment: This dram was tailor-made for the sweet tooth we all have and must be a dentist's nightmare. Make sure to brush your teeth and floss afterwards!

Now that was an experience. I am exaggerating how sweet this dram is, but not by much. I am guessing some ex-sherry casks were involved in the maturing of this whisky. Is this the most decadent whisky we have had in the Calendar so far? Will any of the last two drams top it for sweetness? We shall find out soon...

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool

This entry was posted in Whisky, Tastings, Whisky Calendars, Independent Bottler, KWM Whisky Calendar 2021

 

 

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