It’s time for another distillery tour sample, this one provided by my friend @Scott_E: Miltonduff 10 year old. This Speyside distillery was founded in 1824 and has been steadily used in Ballentine’s blends. They only have 2 official bottling’s- a 10 and a 12yo. They also bottled under the name Mosstowie for a little while. Those particular bottles were filled using malt made from a Lomond-style still. Basically, it’s a still with adjustable plates inside and a moveable lyne arm, and can be used to make heavier spirits. This bottle is from Gordon & MacPhail and is bottled at 43%. It’s champagne gold, oily and makes no legs in the Glencairn. The nose has light florals and grassy notes with some weak, oak undertones. There’s faint sherry and buttery aspects, but something makes this seem more like a weak bourbon. More sherry notes show up if you give it time. The palate is sweet vanilla, honey nut cereal and light sherry. There’s a harsh, wood bite at mid sip and that kind of messes with the entire profile to the point it starts going downhill. It has a thick and oily mouthfeel that lingers on and on. The finish is long, really long, with a sweet sherry note and building warmth. The odd oak astringency is the only thing keeping this from being a big hit with me. It’s just too rough around the edges. Overall, at $55 it’s a great deal, it just lacks some much needed smoothness. There’s some depth (plenty for a 10yo), complexity and flavor, but that harshness needs to be pulled from this to make it better. Perhaps some water would work wonders here, but I don’t have the time or volume of whisky to work that out. As it is, it’s a 3.25 star dram that could be higher if the few kinks could be worked out. Cheers.