As I found out a couple of days ago, a sample of this was underway to me from Dràm Mòr. Apparently either Dutch or British Royal Mail decided that somewhere between 5 to 6 weeks was the right amount of time to deliver a small parcel from the UK to The Netherlands.

Anyway, in the mean time I had bought a bottle of this, not wanting to miss out on a Dutch single malt that scored 90 points over at Whiskyfun. Especially so since it’s a Dutch whisky. A little bit of chauvinism never really hurt, did it?

Interestingly, I sent a message to Thijs complaining about there not being any older Millstones being bottled for the Dutch market, since they tend to end up at The Whisky Exchange. Zuidam (the distillery) reacted that it was not long until one was released and it showed up yesterday. Unfortunately, a 20-something year old Millstone now sets you back almost € 500, which is just out of my budget (but only just…).

This one then. An affordable one, with great reviews!

Sniff:
It’s quite typical for a Millstone from the start. There’s a lot of chocolate-y goodness happening. There’s oak and quite some spiciness. Orange fruitiness and some dark, crusty bread. I get notes of star fruit and green apples too, with a hint of mocha.

Sip:
The palate has a bit of bite, but not too much. Some chili and tree bark, cinnamon sticks and cocoa powder. It’s rather dry, with a note of brown sugar, brittle caramel and apple pie. It’s not overly sweet, but there are some notes of pastry. The notes of dark bread are still here, but less pronounced.

Swallow:
The finish is quite rich, but the dryness is there too. The bite initially increases, before settling down to apple pie, and other baked fruits. Brittle caramel, with pulpy oak lingering very long. Some cocoa, vanilla and a minor note of tonka bean.

While this is less similar to a Rye whisky than a Millstone I tried recently, it still is very typical for the distillery from Baarle-Nassau. All the flavors are there, with the combination of chocolate and oranges, and the sharper notes of dark bread all combining nicely. For me it’s not scoring 90, but it sure is scoring well within range of ‘I am glad I got myself a bottle’!

88/100