Millburn 12 Year Old - James MacArthurs - Fine Malt Selection - 1990s

Millburn is a lost Highland distillery, another victim of Diageo forerunner DCL’s catastrophic wave of distillery closures in the 1980s. The distillery’s character was very traditional old school unsexy Highland style, with a tweedy, waxy, oily funk and sometimes a thread of smoke. Aged for long periods in refill wood, Millburns often show a delightful fruitiness.

The only official bottlings of Millburn were a trio of Rare Malts editions released between 1995-2005; all are excellent, but the standout was the classic 35-year-old Millburn 1969, which has become highly sought after. Independent bottlings of Millburn are relatively scarce, with only a tiny number released in the last decade. Unless Diageo or Gordon & MacPhail are hoarding stock for a 40-year-old Millburn release it seems likely that the last cask from this splendid lost Inverness distillery may already have been bottled.

James MacArthur & Co Ltd was an independent bottler of single malt and grain whiskies founded in 1982 by the Winning family. The company kept an exceptionally low profile but its James MacArthur’s Old Masters and James MacArthur’s Fine Malts ranges, while unprolific, were always outstanding drams. James MacArthur’s whiskies were released at cask strength or 45-46% and were always from traditional bourbon or sherry casks. 

James MacArthur’s simple, utilitarian labels were light on detail, often with just a distillery name and age statement rather than any distillation or bottling dates. The company’s most legendary whiskies are a pair of 12-year-old Port Ellens and half a dozen Caol Ilas bottled in the 1980s, all of which are of extraordinary quality and have subsequently fetched enormous prices at auction. Sadly, with the Winnings long past retirement age, James MacArthur & Co was dissolved early in 2022.