Millstone 6 Year Old 2016 Blackadder Raw Cask Single Oloroso Sherry Butt #17B040 Dutch Single Malt Whisky (2025) 70cl
1 of 703 bottles produced from a single oloroso sherry butt.
As with all of the Raw Cask series, this whisky has not been filtered at all and may contain harmless cask sediment.
Blackadder are a family owned independent whisky bottler established in 1995 by Robin Tucek who now runs the business with his son, Michael, and daughter, Hannah. Initially a whisky bottler, they have since developed their range to include other spirits, including rum and gin.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Hints of tobacco alongside muscovado sugar and a just a touch of raisins, but also a gentle copper note. Then pralines accompanied by rose water and cocoa powder. Whiffs of cappuccino as well, with finally something that I can only describe as liqourice allsorts.
Taste: Thick, mouth-coating. European oak? Maybe. The spices sure seem to suggest it. Hints of a stroopsoldaatjes Dutch candy that literally translates to treacle soldiers. Happy childhood memories of consuming too many at the local fair. A whisper of nougat, ristretto and some soft mint-y notes, as well as honeycomb.
Finish: Medium to long with lingering spices, some dried fruits and gentle herbal influences.
About Millstone
Despite already running a very successful, family-owned spirit brand in the Netherlands, master distiller and whisky enthusiast Patrick van Zuidam would not be satisfied until he made his own whisky. His ambition was finally sated when he created the first Dutch whisky: Millstone. It’s a fitting name, and not just because it’s made in the Netherlands. Millstone genuinely uses windmills to process its malted barley, which is important for two reasons: firstly because it preserves Dutch heritage and secondly, the manner in which traditional millstones slowly grind the malted barley into flour is a key component to the Millstone style*. This method is able to ready the malted barley to be made into mash without increasing the temperature of the grain, which helps the barley retain much of its aromas. It takes approximately five hours per batch to transform the malted barley into mash, which is subsequently cooled and pumped to the fermentation tank. Fermentation at Millstone is typically carried out in small batches, and is another aspect of production that takes advantage of using very low temperature, to foster a fruity flavour in its whisky. It takes around five days which, while it is longer than is customary, is another deliberate step from Millstone to allow more delicate flavours to form. Once fermentation is complete, the whisky is double distilled in small handcrafted copper pot stills. The stills were designed to have an extraordinary large copper surface which mean the whisky has a lot of contact with the copper. Not only does this method refine imperfections and eliminate any unwanted substances, but again demonstrates Millstone’s commitment to production techniques that will stimulate the formation of the complex and fruity esters. Zuidam use either new barrels of American white oak or barrels that have previously held bourbon or oloroso sherry only once to age its whisky. Zuidam are very specific about using barrels that have had at most one use before they mature its whisky, in the belief that when these barrels are stored in a warm and dry warehouse, it will age the quickly. This preference however does tend to cost more, firstly because of the sheer volume of barrels Zuidam have to source, purchase and store, but also the evaporation losses are rather high. Typically, the ‘Angels’ Share’ could be as much as between 4% and 5% per year. It is this sort of sacrifice that Millstone are happy to take in order to ensure it creates a product of a singular profile and delicious taste. Millstone whisky is still handcrafted in the traditional Zuidam Distillery today, and continues to make the most of 50 years of family experience in distilling to produce stellar editions.
About Blackadder
Blackadder’s philosophy is very simple – they believe that the Cask is King. Sixty to seventy percent of the flavours in a whisky are taken up slowly from the cask as the spirit lies maturing in the warehouse. The action of changing temperature draws the spirit in and out of the cask.
A family operation started and piloted by whisky legend Robin Tucek, they sell to a few limited countries around the world, primarily Taiwan, Japan, the USA and Sweden.
Blackadder was established in 1995 by Robin Tucek who runs the family business with his daughter Hannah and son Michael. Blackadder International gets its name from fugitive 17th-century preacher, John Blackadder. He is famous for preaching against the evils of alcohol.
Hannah Tucek states that the Blackadder International company will always be family-run. Each of the three owner-operators brings something unique to the table. Michael Tucek used to be a chef. He uses his familiarity with a wide range of aromas and flavours to write all tasting notes. Michael feels that “our sense of smell is the most direct sense to our brain and also our most complex. It’s proven that once you go over three aroma compounds mixed together, everything is subjective and becomes very personal. Every aroma can evoke a different memory in each of us and we build up our aroma library as we grow. By not being afraid to say what we sense and share it, we can all learn something from each other.” Like Michael, Hannah grew up around whisky and has come to appreciate whisky at its pure state. Her father and brother joke that she is the one that’s really in charge.
Every cask is unique, with its own fingerprint. This is why they bottle most of their whiskies from single casks. They don’t believe in chilling or otherwise heavily filtering their whiskies, and they never, repeat never, add caramel colouring or flavouring to their spirits. They have always believed the personalities of their whiskies are colourful enough. Their raw cask is famous for the barrel char in each bottle.
Important note about raw cask bottlings:
Raw Cask bottlings take place without any treatment of whiskey during transfer from the barrel to the bottle. Neither cold filtration nor coarse filtration is carried out to separate the wood flakes or the fine carbon particles from the flaming of the barrel before storing a whisky. Barrel residues and wood shavings migrate into the bottle and guarantee the consumer a completely untreated whisky - just from the wood - a term that is otherwise only used for the alcohol content!
Of course, wood flakes and pieces of coal should not be drunk. When the bottle is stored upright, the wood flakes and pieces of coal typical of raw cask bottling settle on the bottom of t
59.8% ABV
70cl
