To close this week that started with a good whisky tasting in which a David Stirk bottling was tasted, I’d like to close of with a somewhat more available bottle. The Exclusive Range is the cheaper variety of his series and there are some gems in there!

I tasted two Macduffs, one I brought to a tasting a while ago, a 9 years old. Another guy brought another 2000 vintage, but 10 years old. A nice head to head was necessary of course!

Macduff 2000, Creative Whisky Company Exclusive Range, 9yo, 45%

Nose:
It smells somewhat old fashioned with leather, some wood and quite a heavy smells. It gets a bit lighter and more fruity after a few minutes.

Taste:
Its a mix of the heavy flavours and the fruitiness that I found in the nose which makes for a nice old fashioned dram from a good sherry cask. The influence is not too heavy, just how I like it.

Finish:
The finish adds some nice flavours of caramel and is quite fierce at first. After a moment it gets a bit smoother and more herbal.

Very nice, rather unexpected for a ‘random’ 9 year old but it has some very nice full bodied flavours. There is nothing negative to say about this whisky. Its just very good, but not stellar.

Macduff 2000, Creative Whisky Company Exclusive Range, 9yo, 45%, available at Drinks & Gifts for 43 euros.

Nose: 8
Taste: 8
Finish: 9
Overal experience: 8
Price/quality: +2

Total: 35 points

Macduff 2000, Creative Whisky Company Exclusive Malts, 10yo, 45% for the Bonding Dram

Nose:
This smells somewhat lighter than the previous one. There is also some sherry wood influence and a very nice smell to it. There is a lot of tropical fruit in the nose.

Taste:
The mouthfeel is a lot fiercer than I expected. A lot more spicy and more wood influence than I expected again. There is a sweet spicyness with fruits and peppers.

Finish:
The finish has a nice flow in it. It starts pretty spicy and gets smoother and softer with every second. There is some dryness and again quite a lot of fruit.

The surprise of the quality of this dram was not as big as with the first Macduff 2000 since it was the second. Although, it is of course nice that your expectations are lived up to. Another sherry cask, but with a different character. More spicy and less leathery than the first.

Macduff 2000, Creative Whisky Company Exclusive Range for The Bonding Dram, 10yo, 56,5%, available at The Bonding Dram for 50 euros (discounted from 60 euros).

Nose: 8
Taste: 7
Finish: 9
Overal experience: 8
Price/quality: +2

Total: 34 points