ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a sweet layer with honey, vanilla and black liquorice. Underneath a baked red apple and a maltiness gets mixed with yellow pears and a decent amount of oak. With time in the glass it just grows sweeter and it feels very dessert-like. It’s a nice enough, very straight forward nose without any shifts or surprises.

Mouth: It starts out with the maltiness up front with a sprinkle of black pepper on top. A somewhat unpleasant bitter oakiness spreads in the back. The fruitiness is subdued and doesn’t contribute much to the whole. There’s also an ethanol layer coming through which isn’t all that nice. It feels way younger than its age and it just doesn’t produce anything good at this point. After a few seconds a hint of vanilla and honey shows up but it’s too little too late.

Finish: A small increase in fruitiness, the same red apples and yellow pears, starts out the finish but it disappears as fast as it shows up. Afterwards the maltiness together with a thin honey and vanilla sweetness takes over. Everything except the oak disappears quite fast. The oakiness is still a bit bitter but not in an especially good way. In the late finish the oak actually becomes a bit nutty with a hazelnut quality to it which is nice. This is a so and so whisky which doesn’t live up to the age statement. The nose is simple but by far the best part of the experience.

Additional information
Miltonduff is one of the cornerstones of the Ballantine’s blends. This 15 YO was released in 2017 and is aged in american ex-bourbon barrels.