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Millstone Dutch Single Malt, Oloroso Sherry Cask No. 17B040
A single cask of Millstone Dutch single malt, distilled at Zuidam Distillers in Baarle-Nassau on 16 December 2016 and matured for 6 years in an ex-Oloroso sherry butt, number 17B040. It was selected and bottled by Blackadder International at cask strength, 57.7% ABV, with no chill filtration and no added colour.
Oloroso is the classic sherry cask of traditional malt whisky, and Zuidam has a reputation for sourcing genuinely good ones rather than briefly seasoned stand-ins. Full-term maturation in that wood, applied to a slow-fermented Dutch spirit with real character of its own, is exactly the kind of release that has made Millstone single casks a quiet obsession among collectors. One butt, one bottling, and no second run.
About Zuidam Distillers & Millstone
Zuidam Distillers is one of the last fully independent family distilleries in the Netherlands. Fred van Zuidam founded it in 1975 in Baarle-Nassau, on the Belgian border, with a single copper still and 300 square metres of floor space. Today his sons run the company, with Patrick van Zuidam, who started distilling at 14, as master distiller. The house method has not changed to suit volume: grain ground slowly by traditional Dutch windmills, long cool fermentations that run for days rather than hours, and unhurried distillation in small copper stills.
The first experimental whisky casks were filled in 1996, and the Millstone name, a nod to those windmill stones, has since become the benchmark for Dutch whisky. Millstone's 100 Rye was named World's Best Rye at the 2022 World Whiskies Awards and took the category again in 2023, and the distillery's sherry-matured single malts have built a devoted following among collectors of Continental European whisky. Millstone is proof that serious whisky does not have to come from Scotland.
Distillery profile
- Founded 1975 by Fred van Zuidam in Baarle-Nassau, the Netherlands; still family owned and run, with Patrick van Zuidam as master distiller.
- Windmill-ground grain: malt is milled slowly between traditional Dutch millstones, the practice that gave Millstone its name.
- Slow by design: long, cool fermentations measured in days and gentle distillation in small copper stills build a fruity, characterful spirit.
- Award pedigree: World's Best Rye at the 2022 World Whiskies Awards, with the distillery's sherry-cask single malts equally sought after.
Cask profile
Cask no. 17B040 is an ex-Oloroso sherry butt, filled on 16 December 2016. Where Pedro Ximenez is sweet and syrupy, Oloroso is a dry sherry aged oxidatively in Jerez, and its casks give whisky depth, nutty richness, and structure without the sugar.
This is full-term sherry maturation, not a finish: the spirit spent its entire 6 years in this one butt. Reviewers of this cask have noted it behaves like a proper ex-solera cask, consistent with Patrick van Zuidam's known insistence on serious sherry wood rather than briefly seasoned casks.
Blackadder International bottled the cask straight from the wood at 57.7% ABV, non-chill filtered and at natural colour. A single butt is all that exists of this whisky, anywhere.
On Tasting Notes
You will not find tasting notes here. By design.
The Whiskey Lab publishes every technical detail a curious drinker could ask for: distillery, cask number, cask type, distillation date, ABV, outturn. Everything that makes the liquid what it is. What we leave to you is the experience of drinking it.
Tasting notes shape expectation. They tell you what you should find before you find it. Our position is that the spirit in your glass should speak for itself, and what you find there belongs to you. Pour it neat. Add a few drops of water if it asks for it. Take your time. The cask did.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Millstone |
| Producer | Zuidam Distillers, Baarle-Nassau |
| Bottler | Blackadder International |
| Style | Dutch Single Malt Whisky |
| Origin | The Netherlands |
| Age | 6 years |
| ABV | 57.7% |
| Volume | 700ml |
| Cask type | Ex-Oloroso sherry butt |
| Cask number | 17B040 |
| Distilled | 16 December 2016 |
| Cask strength | Yes |
| Non-chill filtered | Yes |
| Natural colour | Yes |
| Availability | Open release |
The Whiskey Lab's Quality Commitments
- Single Cask & Small Batch: Ensuring a unique profile for each release.
- Natural Colour & Non-Chill Filtered: Preserving the authentic character and purity of the whisky.
- Honest Storytelling: Every cask profile written by people who actually handled the liquid.
