Miltonduff-Glenlivet 10 yo (54.2%, Cadenhead's for Edinburgh Shop, bourbon hogsheads / sherry firkin finish, bottled 2020)
Finished for six months in 50 litre firkin sherry casks, and it has the colour to prove it! Colour: ruby / coffee. Nose: modern, very active sherry that's really more about the wood than the wine. I find a lot of warm sawdust, cupboard spices, office coffee and these tart, almost acidic, red fruits and berries. I can see why six months was probably sufficient. With water: dark grains, rye bread, pumpkinseed oil and orange bitters. Also more herbal and aromatic, verging on some aged Fernet Branca perhaps. I prefer it with water. Mouth: quite sharp, hot and a little disjointed. These same slightly acidic and sharp fruit notes, young Kriek beer, acid drops, strawberry jam and also bitter instant coffee, cloves and a bit of astringency from the wood. Still quite a bit of wood sharpness and also some meaty tones coming through. With water: spicier and still quite prickly but also a bit more cohesive and 'together'. The oak in undeniably pretty dominant throughout here though. Some dried red fruits and over-stewed, bitter black tea. Finish: medium, bitter, very peppery and with a lot of quite assertive wood spice. Comments: As you can probably tell, this isn't my cup of malt at all I'm afraid. It feels very much all about the wood, but without much in the way of fruit to balance it out. Although, it's not without a few brutish charms.
SGP: 471 - 76 points.

Miltonduff-Glenlivet 12 yo 2008/2020 (54.5%, Cadenhead for Whisky & More Baden, oloroso sherry hogshead finish, 318 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: much better! Banana bread, golden syrup, sultanas, some subtle marzipan and  crystallised orange peel. A much more restrained, leafy and easy sherry influence here. Dare I say it, more natural. With water: more overtly fruity with many nice notes of apricot and damson jam, yellow plums and sultana. Mouth: nice attack, rather peppery, warming, lots of pumpernickel bread spiciness, olive bread and various other savoury, pastry notes. Indeed, 'breads' would be the watchword here. I'm also getting some dark beers such as shilling ales and malt extract. With water: could almost be some kind of young Calvados with these wee notes of bruised cooking apple and cider apple. There's some youthful sweet wines in there too and some lemon curd. Finish: medium, more notes of apple, brown breads, toasted seeds, beers and light spiciness. Comments: Much more to my liking. I think an intriguing and clever balance has been struck.
SGP: 561 - 84 points.

Miltonduff 20 yo 1999/2019 (50.7%, The Whisky Exchange, hogshead, cask #5015, 222 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: fresh orchard fruits, citrus peels, crisp breakfast cereals, runny honey and green apple. The kind of natural, lightly fruity and extremely fresh mature malt whisky profile that's hard to be against. With water: a little shoe polish and hessian, some sunflower oil and green tea with lemon. Mouth: excellent richness on arrival, a syrupy yet natural sweetness that takes in honeys, nectars, pollen, golden syrup, baked banana and an impression of sweetened olive oil. Light but with this feeling of 'texture' which is always pleasing. With water: holds up perfectly with water. Green fruits, citrons, light waxes and some white pepper. Still this feeling of weight in the mouth along a nice peppery bite and fresh cereals. Finish: long, becoming heathery, cereal, lightly dusty, mineral oil, sandalwood and citrus piths. Comments: An excellent and pretty impeccable wee Miltonduff.
SGP: 551 - 87 points.

Milton-Duff 13 yo (85 proof?, OB for Italy, 1960s)
There's a few versions of this old 13yo OB out there and most range from just plain superb, all the way up to otherworldly brilliance in my view. This tall straight version in brown glass should be from around late 1960s, most of these were bottled at 85 proof (48.5%), not 100% sure with this one, could also be 43%… Colour: Nose: gold. Nose: classic old style malt whisky, full of metal polishes, soot, camphor, herbal liqueurs and many wonderfully resinous and crystallised exotic fruits. There's much in common here with some Clynelish of similar era with many fat mineral oil notes, sheep wool oils, waxes and bone marrow fat. Indeed, what marks these old bottlings out so often is an almost gelatinous impression of texture and thickness. Mouth: superb arrival! Wonderfully herbal, resinous, waxy and really doubling down on these notes of soot, mineral oils, bouillon and some powerful notes of cough medicines, fennel and aniseed. This impression of texture from the nose is borne out in a wonderfully mouth-coating oiliness. Mechanical oils, gentian, olive oil infused with herbs and long-aged mead. Finish: long, medicinal, green herbal wines, mentholated tobaccos, mineral oils again and many more oily and camphory qualities. Comments: This one was indeed, just plain superb!
SGP: 562 - 92 points.

Miltonduff-Glenlivet 25 yo 1964/1989 (51.9%, RW Duthie & Co for Europvin)
Duthie's was essentially a subsidiary of Cadenhead, with many legendary bottlings issued under its name during these years. It was in fact Duthie's that was supplying casks - many of which are now some of the most lauded ever bottled - to the likes of Samaroli, Corti Brothers and certain Japanese importers too. I believe these bottlings ended up being exported to Japan, one of the reasons they're now so scarce. Colour: gold. Nose: quite different to the 13yo, we're comfortably in fruit bomb territory here. Although, this same impression of 'texture' and body is immediately apparent. Bags of - in no particular order - mango, kumquat, papaya, passion fruit, guava, pineapple etc… Also crystallised lemon, blossom and citronella wax. Still a feeling of restraint though, even in spite of all that fruity excess. With water: sandalwood, olive oil, clay, wintergreen and marjoram. This green herbal freshness vibe increases with water, but overall it's still nicely waxy and oily as well. Mouth: the fruits are there but it's more controlled here, there's drying waxes, minerals, resinous herbal extracts, ointments, putty - even some residual cereals and caramelised sugars. An increasing feeling of complexity. Orange cough lozenges, green Chartreuse, mint tea, lime curds and pressed flowers. A lot going on, but globally the impression is one of subtlety. With water: bitter green herbs now, pollens, canvass, almost a saltiness begins to emerge with impressions of Dutch liquorice and black miso paste. Sharp, chiselled and becoming more assertive, narrow and powerful with water. Finish: long, resinous, honeyed, lightly saline, waxy and with many subtle medicines, herbs and hardwood resins. Comments: This one really commands attention and delivers complexity and evolution, in a way that's almost a narrative. Although, I'm not too sure the quality is higher than the OB. Almost 93, but let's just call it a tie…
SGP: 562 - 92 points.