A bottle of Miltonduff from the SMWS, distilled on 17th November 1982 and matured for 30 years in a refill hogshead. This whisky has been given the name 'What a wonderful world'.
"Afternoon tea in the American bar in the Savoy in the 1930s, expensive perfume, cucumber sandwiches and Lapsang Souchung tea. With Water, we have moved into the night, Jazz music and cigarette smoke filling the air and we enjoy a Gin & Tonic with a slice of cucumber"
The front of the bottle at times confuses or inspires.
A very fresh, floral new make character shows Miltonduff to be a charming, light single malt, perfect for adding top notes to the restrained and elegant Ballantine’s blend. Its palate has a succulent texture.
Miltonduff was, briefly, part of Allied Distiller’s Caledonian Malts range (alongside Laphroaig, Tormore, Scapa and Glendronach) but other than a limited edition 18-year-old cask strength bottling, no official releases have taken place under Chivas Brothers' ownership. Licensed bottlings are made under the auspices of Gordon & MacPhail. Some Mosstowie (see below) also occasionally surfaces.
In July 2017 Miltonduff was released as a 15-year-old single malt (alongside expressions from Glentauchers and Glenburgie) under the Ballantine’s brand.
One wonders what the monks would have made of it. Moonshining was commonplace in the surroundings of Pluscarden Abbey in the smuggling era of the late 18th and early 19th century. Whether any monastic distillation ever took place is unknown – the original monastery fell into ruin in the early 17th century, but was restored in 1948 and is now the only medieval monastery still inhabited by monks. Distillation certainly took place at Milton Farm where the abbey’s old meal mill once stood.
Miltonduff (the suffix comes from Duff family which owned the estate) went legal in 1824 and by the end of the century was one of the largest producers in Scotland, making in excess of one million litres a year and using triple distillation (an unusual technique for Highland/Speyside distilleries).
Its next landmark came in 1936 when it was bought by Canadian distiller Hiram Walker which was beginning its Scottish expansion (Ballantine’s, Dumbarton).
In 1964, a pair of ‘Lomond’ stills was installed, producing a malt which was named Mosstowie. The stills operated until 1981. A significant expansion in 1974 saw capacity increased to more than 5m litres per annum with three pairs of stills now operating. In 2005 it became part of Chivas Brothers.
About SMWS
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in 1983 by a group of friends lead by tax accountant Phillip ‘Pip’ Hills as a private members club. The concept behind the society was to source casks from all over Scotland which would then be bottled and made available exclusively to its members. Perhaps the most famous feature of these bottles are the unique codes. Each distillery is represented by a different number and the following digits indicate that particular release. That same year, the SMWS set up its first location in Leith’s Vault buildings in Edinburgh where it still stands today.
