Review: Diageo Orphan Barrel Project Muckety-Muck Single Grain Scotch 25 Years Old
Review: Diageo Orphan Barrel Project Muckety-Muck Single Grain Scotch 25 Years Old
Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Project featured a 24 year old single grain Scotch last year. Now Muckety-Muck returns as a 25 year old — same Port Dundas stock, same pig-inspired name, just one year older.
I think it’s safe to say that any opinions you may have had about the 24 year old version of this whiskey are equally valid at 25 (and 0.5% higher abv). Grainy and leathery on the nose, there’s a gentle note of pepper that rides along with lemon peel and a touch of buttered rum batter, adding some texture — though the underlying cereal does a lot of the talking.
As expected, the palate has more going on. Quite sweet and chewy, with brown butter and spiced nuts leading into a vanilla-scented sugar cookie dough character. The body’s quite creamy and clean, the experience short on nuance but heavy on expression, concluding with a sunny squeeze of lemon, maybe some tangerine, and a layer of butterscotch candies.
I don’t have any more of the 24 year old Muckety-Muck on hand to taste these side by side, but looking back at my very similar notes — sans any hint of smokiness this time around — I’m confident that the most noteworthy change with this release is its price (an extra $25).
91 proof.
B+ / $250 / orphanbarrel.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]