Macduff Archives - More Drams, Less Drama

Scotch & Sherry SMWS

21st February 202520th February 2025Coldorak

In 2024, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) released a documentary exploring the intricate relationship between Scotch whisky and sherry. This documentary, titled “Scotch & Sherry: A Flavour Odyssey,” takes viewers on a journey from SMWS headquarters in Leith to the oak forests of Galicia and the Sherry Triangle in Andalucia. The film delves into the process of creating sherry cask-matured whisky and introduces the artisans behind both the casks and the sherry used in the maturation process.

Accompanying this documentary, SMWS has curated a tasting pack featuring three whisky samples and two sherry samples (one Oloroso and one Pedro Ximénez). Let’s review the three whiskies, but skip on the sherries.

Signatory 100 Proof Exceptional Cask #1, #2 and #3

Aultmore / Glenburgie / Macduff 100 Proof Exceptional Casks Signatory Vintage

28th November 202427th November 2024Coldorak

Part of the recent and ever-growing series 100 proof from Signatory Vintage, the independent bottler released a few bottlings as an ‘Exceptional Cask’ subseries. We review the first three whiskies bottled in this series: an Aultmore 2007, a Glenburgie 2008 and a Macduff 2007 100 Proof Exceptional Casks, Edition #1 to 3, from Signatory Vintage.

Quick review: Macduff 10yo batch 8 TBWC

17th December 201917th December 2019Coldorak

Behind the sixteenth window of That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s 2019 Advent Calendar we will be reviewing each day until the 24th of December was hidden a Macduff 10yo batch 8, bottled at 50.2% abv by that Boutique-y Whisky Company. You may never have heard of Macduff, though you may know their range through its commercial name: The Deveron. The reason might me because Macduff was trademarked by DCL, Diageo’s old name, so they had to find another one to sell their single malts. It’s a young distillery, created in 1960 by Marty Dyke, James Stirrat, George Crawford and Brodie Hepburn (also known for his involvement in Deanston and Tullibardine) and now owned by John Dewar and Sons (Bacardi). One of the distinctive characteristics of Macduff is that they have 5 stills: two wash-stills and three spirit-stills, with the lyne arms of four of them bent in a peculiar way, and the fifth one being U-shaped in order to fit in the still room. Their spirit is mostly used for the William Lawson blend, but a good part is still used as single malt under The Deveron (or Glen Deveron) name. This bottling can be found for £59.95 on Master of Malt as of today.