Even better than the real thing, part 3: Millstone peated PX cask (2016-2022)

Non scotch whiskies that should be on your radar: Can the Dutch ‘beat the Dutch’?

When taking a look around to see where interesting whiskies and distilleries can be found outside of Scotland, it‘s a simple case of common courtesy to peek across my own borders. Hence the Kornog from last week, meaning I went south of the border, and so this week it’s time to jump just north of the border and pay my Dutch friends a visit as well. And ‘just north of the border’ can be taken quite literally, as today’s whisky is practically Belgian – although I very much doubt they will ever admit it. I do state this a bit tongue in cheek, as Zuidam distillery (named after the founding family Van Zuidam – easy peasy to pronounce as a native speaker but very much a case of ‘double Dutch’ for everyone else) is located in the south of the Netherlands in a very peculiar place called ‘Baarle Nassau’ which is almost completely surrounded by the comunity of Baarle Hertog, a Belgian enclave on Dutch soil, and the distillery is located bang on the border between the two. How this enclave came to be, makes for a rather fascinating bit of history which dates back to the 12th Century. It’s a bit complicated, but let’s just summarize by saying it involved dukes and counts who didn’t always see eye to eye and one used the land of another nobleman buy cutting a deal in order to prevent the other from expanding his territory. 5 centuries later, religion got involved during the protestant-catholic wars, meaning both parties used the enclaves to ensure freedom of religion (freedom of religion of their choice, obviously), and by the time Belgium and the Netherlands became two separate, sovereign nations in the 19th century, the whole thing had become such a hot mess they just decided to leave things as they were. Which was probably a smart move.

In any case, Zuidam is a family run distillery founded in 1975 focussing on all things distilled – jenever, gin, vodka, rum, liqueur and, indeed, whisky. The latter under the name Millstone, an ambition achieved by the current master distiller and manager Patrick Van Zuidam (the 2nd generation), who started running trial batches in the 1990’s to create, as they now proudly boast it, the first Dutch whisky. The name was easily chosen, as mills are practically synonymous with the Dutch, and what better way to make good use of a cliché than by adopting it to build a strong brand. Since those trial batches from the mid-nineties, their whisky has indeed come a long way, and these days they focus on a series of single malt and a (strongly recommended) rye whisky. On paper, their whisky ticks a lot of the boxes, as all of their releases come without chill filtering or added colouring, at either 46% or cask strength ABV, and as most of their bottlings come with vintages, you always have a clear indication of what’s in the glass. So, prospects good on paper, let’s find out if it delivers in real life as well.

Millstone Peated PX Cask, 6yo (09.11.2016- 24.11.2022). 46% ABV, NC, UCF, app. €40

Nose

‘wet’ and spicy – like a sherry cask that was still rather ‘moist’ when dumping the new make into it. The spice notes coming from the usual suspects – a lot of clove, nutmeg and baking spices, with hints of eucalyptus and cooked red fruits. The peat is quite mellow, sitting on notes of strawberry and strawberry jam. There is a very faint ashy – burnt matches note too. I wouldn’t even call it sulphur, but it has been brought to my attention that others are far more sensible to this particular note than me and I might therefore underestimate it a bit.

Palate

Warming, with again a lot of baking spices, clove and nutmeg leading the way. Stewed oranges and notes of red fruit marmalade. Buried underneath the fruit and spice lies a peaty core. Medium full mouthfeel and slightly woody mid palate, before a second wave of warming, earthy peat rolls in.

Finish

Fairly long, with a mixture of soft peat, spices and wood

Final thoughts.

In my opinion you can tell this is not a scotch whisky. Of course that’s by no means a bad thing as such, but compared to the previous two (who could easily ‘fool you’ into thinking they were scotch whiskies both in terms of flavour profile and in ‘quality’), this one would be the proverbial odd man out. And again, that’s absolutely fine, as it’s always better to try and be good at what you do best, rather than trying to mimic something you’re not. If you’re after a sherry/peat bomb combo reminiscent of the likes of Kilchoman Loch Gorm or Ardbeg Uigedeail, you might be knocking on the wrong door with this one. Surprisingly, as this is ‘just’ a 6yo, the peat is quite mellow and settles for a place in the back, because due to the active sherry cask, it’s spices and fruit that lead the way. A perfectly palatable whisky, and spot on for the price point of about €40- €45. While it didn’t knock me on my backside (it could with a bit more boldness and complexity to really wow me), I’m still very much enjoying my time with this. 82/100