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whiskyfun.com
May 09, 2020
One of the latter day glories from that just absolutely wonderful Rare Malts series. However, while the St Magdalene 1979 is often lauded as one of the series’s great triumphs, I think this Millburn remains of its hidden gems. However, I never wrote proper notes, so lets officially double check that proposition… Colour: deep gold. Nose: like someone just unfurled a hessian quilt in a dunnage warehouse. One of these sublimely old school aromas that unspools you enough deceptive rope (organoleptically literally in this case) before reeling you in on a wave of camphor, natural tar, wood embers, precious hardwood resins, pine cones, vapour rubs and wonderful notes of spiced fruit preserves, dried figs, sultana and quince jelly. The nose quivers with this sense of texture you could stand a spoon in. With water: stunning development, all on exotic spiced teas, complex waxiness, earthy notes, tobacco, old leather and bitter orange marmalade. Mouth: Millburn often gets lumped together with the whackier flights of fancy from its sibling Invernetians: Glen Albyn and Glen Mhor. However, I think these older (pre-1975) examples really belong more to some kind of Glen Ord / Clynelish ‘highland triangle’. This is swollen with wax, herbs, hessian, sandalwood, fruit jellies, dried mango chunks, pollen and the most wonderful, complex wood spice - almost incense! Just beautiful. With water: now it moves more towards all these wonderful preserved fruit and jam notes. Apricot, quince, yellow plums and spiced apple. Still retains this wonderfully broad and sinewed ‘highland’ style fatness of texture. Finish: long, waxy, slightly drying and revealing a touch of mineral-flecked austerity. More wood resins, teas and spices. Comments: Totally stellar whisky. It’s a world away from the St Magdalene, but what comes to mind is that, while the St Mag has the edge in terms of technical brilliance, there’s perhaps more ‘obvious’ and easy pleasure to be had here. Anyway, who cares! What a gorgeous old Millburn.
