1) Miltonduff was Allied's largest distillery - closely followed by Glentauchers. Even after the take-over by Pernod Ricard the capacity of the distillery is one of the largest in the group; only Glenlivet has a larger capacity.

2) Even before Word War II the first 'premium' blend was designed by George Robertson, master blender at Ballantine's. Apart from Miltonduff and Glenburgie (who both belonged to the George Ballantine & Son group) the blend contained Ardbeg, Balblair, Glencadam, Pulteney and Scapa. 

3) Allied Domecq used Miltonduff to house their 'Malt Distilleries Technical Centre'. It houses the warehouse management for all their distilleries, an engineering department and a laboratory. After the take-over by Pernod Ricard the complex also houses the group's dark grains plant.

4) In the past, Miltonduff malt whisky used to be triple-distilled.

5) The Miltonduff distillery has 16 stainless steel washbacks.

6) The Catholic Church briefly owned part of Miltonduff; the parish of Elgin was bequeathed a share of the ownership of the distillery in 1900. However, the stocks were sold on soon afterwards.

7) The Miltonduff distillery should not be confused with the Milton distillery - an old name for Strathisla distillery.

8) Miltonduff is a core ingredient of the Ballantine's blended whisky.
 

Miltonduff 1998/2011 (57%, Berry Bros & Rudd, C#3605)
Nose: Creamy and slightly sour. Sparkly - reminds me of cider. A nice but fairly bland summer whisky.
Early summer fruits. Apples and mirabelles. Plums perhaps? You really have to dig deep to find much detail.
Palate: Oy... Feels rough and chalky. This cask must have been always deceased. Bourbon blandness.
Score: 71 points - it's decent whisky, but character-wise I might as well be drinking a bland blend.

Miltonduff 8yo (43%, Duncan Taylor 'Battlehill', Bottled +/- 2008)
Nose: Light & melony. Growing complexity. But then the development seems to stop. Bad nose day today?
Taste: Deep fruity burn. Big finish, ending on a woody and bitter tone. Caramel? Time isn't kind to this whisky.
Score: 77 points - which is quite an impressive score for such a young malt whisky...

Miltonduff 1999/2007 (55.7%, Whisky Doris, C#810, 180 Bts.) - tasted blind
Nose: Nose: Light with some oily and farmy notes in the background. Some spices too.
Very smooth after a lot of breathing, almost like an Irish whisky or a grain whisky.
Taste: Smooth, oily start, powering up in the centre. Feels like a grain whisky on the palate as well.
A fair dose of fruits on the palate.  Fairly sweet - but is it because of the young age? Long, dry finish.
Score: 81 points - decent enough, but not the most impressive dram at the MM Awards 2008.
I must admit that I would have pegged this as an Irish whiskey or even a grain whisky.

Miltonduff 12yo 1989/2001 (65,28%, Single Barrel Collection, Cask #30322, 289 Bottles)
Nose: Wowie! Big and polished first, growing dustier. Lovely fruits. Developing organics. A big malt.
After I added a dash of water the nose opened up just a little bit further. Another cracking malt...
Taste: Very potent on the palate. Big and sweet. Not terribly complex, but extremely drinkable.
Some water improved the palate as well, giving it some more depth. A cloying sweetness in the finish.
Score: 88 points - but I should add that this particular malt might be too sweet for some people.
This Miltonduff may be the highest proof whisky I've ever tried - or at least it's in the top three.

Miltonduff 11yo 1990/2001 (60.4%, Cadenhead's, Bottled July 2001)
Nose: Starts of rather mild but very promising. Citrus. Sweaty. Farmy. Spicy.
Wonderful development - and it becomes very complex over time.
Taste: On the palate it starts out full bodied but it turns notably grittier towards the finish. Too bad...
Score: 84 points - just short of 'highly recommendable'.

Miltonduff 34yo 1966 (43.6%, Hart Brothers, CVI, Bottled +/- 2000) - a cask strength (!) malt.
It showed its class in the glass with nice and heavy 'legs'... 
Nose: Fresh fruits and salt liquorice - an interesting combination. Water melon. Smoke.
More liquorice with time, but it disappears after five minutes. Maybe even a hint of peat?
Taste: Sweet and sherried. Hint of smoke. Fruity like fruit cake or marshmellows. Fabulous finish.
Score: 85 points - My initial score of 83 points didn't fully express my appreciation for this beauty.

Miltonduff 17yo 1978/1996 (57.9%, Cadenhead's, USA, 75cl) - tasted blind
Nose: Started off creamy and spicy. Citrussy. Sorrel. Rhubarb. Even more citrus with some water.
Many different fragrances in the 'sour' end of the spectrum. This must surely be a Lowlander, no?
Taste: On the palate it was remarkably sweet though. More chocolate towards the finish.
A 'bourbony' mouth feel with some pine. Grapefruit? Drying out towards a peppery finish.
Score: 86 points - I actually guessed this was a Bladnoch.

Miltonduff 12yo (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 1995, 70cl)
Nose: It shows a lot of flowery freshness. Light and clean.
Taste: It also has a very nice palate with a lot more flavour on the tongue. Toffee?
A real mouth-warmer, although it doesn't seem powerful at first. Not very complex either.
Score: 74 points - just below average.

Miltonduff 1963 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, Old map label, Bottled early 1990's)
Nose: Aaaah... Starts like the last one; rich and sweet. And just like the last one it disintegrates quickly.
Taste: Oy.... Menthol... Very herbal - like chartreuse again... Dry, hot and bitter. Loses points here.
Score: 78 points - I had it at 76/77 for a while but if you wait long enough it makes a partical recovery.

Miltonduff 1966/1990 (61.4%, Antica Casa Marclesi Spinola, 75cl) was my sixth expression.
And what a stunner it turned out to be - I'm so happy that Michel Wigman recommended it to me.
Nose: Velpon glue. Heavy sherry. Salty. Chalky. After 15 minutes the 'antiquity' becomes more pronounced.
Rich and complex with loads of organics - this one will be hard to top this one during the festival, I imagine.
Taste: Not very sweet. Not at all what I expected but fantabulous. Too busy enjoying myself to make notes.
Score: 93 points - that's right... A fresh one for the top of my Hit List - eternal glory... 

Miltonduff 1963 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Old brown banner label, Bottled early 1980's)
Nose: Wow!!! Big bold and rich! Sweet, evolving into bitter chocolate. Even a hint of peat. Then it drops off.
Taste: Fruity in the start, lovely tannins in centre and finish. Like the nose, it loses steam very quickly.
Score: 81 points - it seems to have very 'long legs' at just 40%, but that's an optical illusion. No stamina.
 

And there's more to tell about Miltonduff...

These were not all (official & independent) bottlings of Miltonduff Scotch whisky I've tried over the years.
Besides, these tasting notes only reflect my own, personal opinion; your tastes might be different from mine.
Fortunately, you can find the scores and tasting notes from up to two dozen other whisky lovers in the 'Malt Maniacs Monitor' - an independent whisky database with details on more than 15,000 different whiskies from Scotland and the rest of the world. Visit the Miltonduff page on the MMMonitor and select 'scorecard view' if you want to know how other whisky lovers felt about the dozens of Miltonduff expressions that were released in recent years. However, if you'd like to learn more about whisky in general (and single malt Scotch whisky in particular), you might want to check out the Beginner's Guide to Scotch whisky (10 chapters filled with everything you need to fully enjoy and appreciate a glass of single malt whisky) or the mAlmanac (sort of a rudimentary whisky shopping guide.)
 

Miltonduff whisky

2005 - Pernod Ricard (Chivas Brothers) become the new owners of the Miltonduff distillery.