Miltonduff 42 yo 1964/2006 Signatory cask #1152 45.1%

Hello world! This summer I've enjoyed a very interesting format of blind tasting in one of FB groups...

The idea was to announce some undisclosed bottle available for sampling, local whisky maniacs get the samples, I publish some hints, offer a prize for the winner and by certain day the competition is finalized with answers being summitted publicly or personally. Of course some prize for the winner. That's how it looks:

1. Not Islay, not Orkney and even not Skye. Not Jura, not Mull and not Lewis.

2. It both sings solo and plays in a band

3. Despite being little bit Afro...

If you start thinking what it can be you quite easily come to some Highland, Speyside or Lowland malt that is both used in blends and also bottled as a single malt. "Afro" is black so you can start analyzing all ways how the whisky can be black: peaty, Blackadder bottling, all variants with gaelic Dhu etc. I was also expecting for the guys investigating single malt components in blends with word "Black": Black & White, Black Bull etc.

Though I did my best with this hint: water source for this distillery is ... Black Burn (old word for spring)! And the right answer is... Miltonduff 42 yo 1964/2006 Signatory cask #1152 45.1%!

What interesting can we say about this distillery?.. Stolen from different places on web:

1. Some time ago a part of Miltonduff was owned by catholic church. Actually it is located on territory of Pluscarden Abbey founded by Benedictine monks in 1236.

2. It produces huge amount of alcohol (5.5 mln ltr in 2012) larger part of which goes to Ballantines (scotch whisky #2 in the world and #1 in EU, 2012 figures). In Chivas Brothers stable only Glenlivet is producing more.

3. From 1964 to 1981 there was a pair of Lomond still on Miltonduff where Mosstowie was produced. Later on they were replaced by usual stills.

4. Interesting coincidence of names: Mitonduff shouldn't be mixed up with Milton distillery (old name of Strathisla).

5. Whiskybase knows only 400 Miltonduff releases with only 20 releases being official which is not that much. Last of the official ones was Miltonduff 16 yo Cask Strength 1998/2014 still available in some web shops and in Chivas visitor centre. One can also recollect 10 yo from GM and pair of bottlings from Maltbarn.

My T&N: nose is on oranges, honey, flowers, dried fruits, touch of oak. Sherry is obvious, but not dominating (2-nd refill?..). Pepperment freshness. You get more oak on palate, but it's still ok. Oranges and pepperment. White pepper and spiciness. Finish is long and a bit biting. This old gentleman is doing well in his age! The longer you sit with it, the better the nose is. 24 21 22 22 = 89/100!