Macduff 1978-1994 - 16 Year Old - Cadenheads - Miniature

Built in 1962, Macduff is a relatively large, though quiet, Highland distillery that spends its days making high quality single malt spirit for owner Bacardi’s blended whisky portfolio. Perhaps due to the Macduff name’s similarity to Miltonduff, official bottlings of Macduff’s whisky appeared as Glen Deveron until 2015, when a new range was launched as The Deveron.

Stylistically, Macduff is closer to its near neighbours on Speyside than the classic Highland style, with a clean, technically pure, malty, sweet, fruity style. At auction, 1960s vintages by Douglas Laing and Duncan Taylor are the most highly sought after, with the best value probably the 1970s vintages by First Cask and 1990s vintages bottled by Signatory and Ian MacLeod.

In 1842 George Duncan established a wine merchant and distillery agency business in Aberdeen. Duncan was joined in the early 1850s by his brother-in-law William Cadenhead, who took over the business after Duncan’s death in 1858, changing the company’s name to Wm. Cadenhead. When Cadenhead died in 1904 the company passed to his nephew Robert Duthie, who developed the spirits side of the business.

Duthie died suddenly in 1931, and employee Ann Oliver was put in charge of Cadenhead’s. Sadly, Oliver’s tenure ended in financial difficulty and on her retirement in 1972 the business was forced to sell its entire inventory. Cadenhead’s was acquired soon afterwards by J & A Mitchell, proprietors of Springbank distillery, who relocated the business to Campbeltown. Cadenhead’s has flourished under Mitchell’s stewardship, releasing many legendary single malt bottlings in the 1980s and 1990s and now has outlets in Edinburgh and London as well as Campbeltown.