Macduff distillery located in the Speyside town of MacDuff was founded as recently as 1962 by Glen Deveron Distillers Ltd, a joint venture between George Crawford, Marty Dyke and the Duff family.

Production began in 1963 and in 1965 the number of stills was increased from 2 to 3, then again to 4 in 1967.

The company was taken over by William Lawson Distillers Ltd in 1972 and they in turn were swallowed up by Martini Rossi in 1980.

The number of stills was increased again in 1990 when a fifth was added.

In 1992 Martini Rossi were taken over by Bacardi and the MacDuff distillery was assigned to their John Dewar & Sons subsidiary who are still the 'owners' today.

Distillery photo with kind permission by Alan Jamieson

More great distillery info here thanks to Malt Madness

Glen Deveron

 General whisky characteristics: Malty and creamy with toffee

Glen Deveron, (OB), 1998, 10y, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Walnut

Nose: Malt, lightly roasted chestnuts and butterscotch.

Palate: Initially malty with some creamy toffee which expands to include some slightly leafy notes.

Finish: Long and slightly dry

Overall Impression: A good malty whisky with a slightly dry finish. As an afterthought, I imagine this would work very well with a slice of ginger cake!

MacDuff (IB)

 General whisky characteristics: Fresh, outdoors, dark fruits, sherried

Whisky Doris, Macduff, distilled 02.03.1990, bottled 09.10.2009, 19y, 55.7% ABV

sherry hogshead #1422, one of 187 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Teak

Nose: Old wood, raisin-flavoured new paint or even wood-stain, marinated plums and a touch of sweet sherry.

Palate: Very spirity dark fruits - this really needs a few drops of water.

With 4 drops of water in about 2cl: A less penetrating nose now has rich dark fruits. The palate is much smoother and offers the same rich dark fruits (raisins, currants & plums) along with equally rich nuts.

3 Further drops of water in about 1cl: Make this lighter, but still a massive sherry-bomb.

Finish: Extremely long and everlasting with the drops of water added. It is also pure, rich dark fruits, wood and nuts.

Overall Impression: A real sherry bomb with an everlasting finish. Prepare to be blown away!

 

Whisky Doris, Macduff, distilled 2.3.1990, bottled 6.10.2010, 20y, 54.3% ABV sherry hogshead #1428, one of 156 bottles Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich dark amber

Nose: Initially lots of raisins and furniture polish. This is extremely rich and even develops a suggestion of red berries through the richness after 3-4 minutes.

Palate: Very smooth mouth-feel, surprisingly smooth. The raisins from the nose translate immediately onto the palate, accompanied by a suggestion of toasted maltiness.

Finish: Long and very rich.

Overall Impression: A very solid and rich whisky, but to me it's just a little single-faceted. Still most enjoyable and a good after dinner dram.

Vom Faß, Macduff, 27y, 40% ABV

"Vom Faß" as the name suggests, sells directly from small casks in the shop(s)

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich honey

Nose: Oak, fresh outdoors, hay, malt and very slightly antiseptic

Palate: Strange, my first thoughts with this one were of an immediate but short burst of Yorkshire pudding! This is followed by peppery red wine, hay and just a suggestion of liquorice root.

Finish: Quite long and ranging from a malty start to a fruity end.

Overall Impression: An aromatic whisky, lots of outdoors or countryside in a pleasant way, although that Yorkshire pudding took me by surprise.

L'Esprit, Macduff, distilled 15.11.2000, bottled 19.10.2010, 61.1% ABV

First fill sherry cask No.5778,

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very rich, dark glowing amber

Nose: An initial burst of creamy espresso is followed by dark chocolate, before the coffee returns. This is primarily rich coffee and dark chocolate (85%+ cacao).

Palate: Chewily (is that a word?) creamy and extremely rich with coffee beans and dark chocolate in the fore, but there's also a hint of coconut and then richly polished wood leading into the finish.

Finish: Very long, rich and tingly with light pepperiness.

Overall Impression: Wonderful, a true delight. In fact it's classified as one of my rare "Greats".

Exclusive Malts, Macduff, 10y, distilled 15.11.2000,  56.6% ABV

Cask No.5800, bottled for Taipei Whisky Live 2011

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark oak / rich amber

Nose: Initially very fruity with damson leading to prunes and figs, then some lightly toasted walnut. Lots of aromatic aged oak drying in midday sun with hints of furniture polish. This is very rich and solid.

Palate: Everything the nose promised with that rich fruit and wood which expand across the palate. These are joined by hints of bramble.

Finish: Very long and warming rich fruit

Overall Impression: Another excellent whisky from David Stirk.

Exclusive Malts, Macduff, 10y, distilled 15.10.2000,  56.5% ABV

Sherry Butt No.3525, bottled for "The Bonding Dram"

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark and rich teak

Nose: Rich dark fruits with raisins, currants and plums, then a suggestion of marzipan and overall becoming even more aromatic with time in the glass.

Palate: Those raisins, currants and plums translate wonderfully to the palate and are joined by mixed nuts and even a dash of coconut. These are all followed by lingering dark cherries and treacle toffee which lead into the finish.

Finish: Long and rich

Overall Impression: Another "Great" from this distillery and this bottler.