This is the first Millburn I am reviewing on the blog – Another “V” next to a distillery I bet not many know much about, let alone tasted. Anyways, Millburn was founded in 1807 and was located in Inverness. It closed down in 1985 and the main building was transformed into a restaurant, and later on it was incorporated into the “premier inn” chains of hotels…
I was lucky to have been offered a sample of this by my good friend Sjoerd (thank you again mate!), who has a few crackers in his collection. A Blackadder RAW cask is usually good fun, and this dram is no different. It’s superb.
Millburn Raw Cask 1974 ,55.1% ABV
Nose: old wood up front. And I mean heaps of that. My kind of old wood. As in old benches. Library books. Varnish. The whole nine yards. This cask rocks. Lemon curd comes to mind after a few seconds as well as coconut and macerated cherries.
Palate: deep and sweet to begin with. Lots of sugar and vanilla. Pepper and old wood and lots of spice. Mouth watering. Cherries, maybe a hint of exotic fruit : dried sugared pineapple and stewed peaches. A touch of chocolate truffles. Yummy stuff. Excellent cask.
Finish : sweet. Fruity stewed peaches. Vanilla. Chocolate. Bits of coconut candy. Majestic wood. Damn fine stuff.
In short : Cracking stuff.
Back in the day it was the most expensive bottle I had ever bought. I barely had the guts to drive it home after picking it up at The Old Pipe. Now I regret not buying two…
how much did it cost back then?
€ 180