This was my third of three in our second round of distillery samples. This was an independent bottling that came from Duncan Taylor, as part of their Octave series releases. It's 14 years old and was offered at a cask strength of 54.6% ABV. The Macduff distillery is currently owned and operated by Bacardi. The official name is Glen Deveron due to its location next to the River Deveron, in the Scottish highlands- where they get their water source. Right now they have 3 official distillery releases: a 16, 20 and 30 year old single malt. All of their independent bottle releases use the name Macduff because Bacardi protects the Glen Deveron name for the core releases. Only about 10% of the whisky is saved for these bottles, while the rest goes to blends for Dewars and William Lawson. The nose is heavily sweet. Cereal grains, honey and bread really keep the oak and vanilla in check. It's not very hot despite the high ABV- that's a sign of just how sweet it smells. Overpowering. It's a similar experience on the palate. Sweet honey and vanilla that feels thicker than I expected. It lingers on the tongue for a bit until the heat and oak pepper begin to wreck an unexpected smoothness. This leads to the worst part of this malt- the finish. While it's a little hot, it only lasts for a short time before turning thin and dry on the tongue. The heat follows the liquid down and I found that made it harsh. If the initial nosing and sipping experience hung around I'd probably give this one higher marks than I hoped for, but the rough, one dimensional finish has me searching for cocktail recipes to help empty the last 1/3 of the bottle. I paid well over $100 for this bottle and there's no way it's worth that. I can name 2 dozen bottles I'd rather have, but hey, it's another distillery we can mark off on our Scotland tour. 3.25 stars. Cheers, friends.