Hi-flying Mortlach on the desk


August 29, 2023

Hi-flying Mortlach on the desk

Let's try the beast of Dufftown again. I don't seem to remember if the famous Wee Witchie, their smaller spirit + feint still, is always on or whether they sometimes bypass it to produce some pure double-dstilled malt spirit with all five bigs stills, as they can do with Wash + Spirit #3.

Still house operations at Mortlach.
Aye, its all 100% clear (Malt Maniacs)

In any case, they've already explained their 'Byzantine' 2.81-times distillation scheme to me many times, always with friendliness and in a convincing manner, but I would be utterly unable to explain it back to you in a credible way. It's probably easier to just taste some examples of their production...

Mortlach 10 yo 2012/2022 (48.5%, Decadent Drinks, Equinox & Solstice, 2-year sherry finish)

A 2-year finish, that's almost additional maturation, especially given that this baby had always been dating a sherry hogshead for several years. Colour: brownish amber. Nose: you cannot not think of the early Flora & Fauna versions, but this one may have even deeper chocolaty sherry tones, more pencils shavings and a box of cigars as well, plus touches of old copper (coins) and a cup of very old pu-her tea – say fifth water. Ha. Mouth: very old-school sherry and very Mortlach at the same time, that is to say big and bold, spicy, slightly metallic once more and full of spicy Christmas cake. It would get then more 'modern', with more wood oils, pinecones and needles, a little kombucha, resins… It may have been smart (no wonder) to reduce this one, as I would imagine full-strength would have made it a tad too heavy. Big cloves and caraway. Finish: very long, with a lot of medium-salted liquorice, the ones that are blacker than black. 'Outrenoir', in the words of Pierre Soulages (RIP), and then geared towards some very spicy Thai dish. Comments: almost concentrated Mortlach that you could bring down to 20% vol while it would still hold. Yes, I've tried.
SGP:372 – 88 points.

Mortlach 10 yo (42.5%, Jean Boyer, Best Casks of Scotland, Re-coopered hogsheads, 1,000 bottles, +/-2015)

This should be exactly the opposite. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: we're at the bone here, as we say, with whiffs of apple peel, granny smith, woodruff and elder flowers, honeysuckle, gooseberries… Well while the Equinox was for winter, this is for early spring. No actual meaty and/or sulphury tones this time. Mouth: gummy bears and grenadine all over the place, St-Germain liqueur, drop of ginger tonic, apples, drops of geranium oil, some white peaches, lemon grass… Finish: medium, lemony and a little mojito-y, if I may. Comments: very nice, even if a little lighter than your average Mortlach. I'd say it would happily take a few ice cubes, around the month of May.
SGP:551 - 83 points.

Mortlach 10 yo 2012/2022 (48%, Artist Collective, LMDW)

Colour: amber. Nose: strikingly Mortlach, fatter, full of shoe polish, with touches of mutton suet, spent engine greases, plus just lemongrass and a little umami sauce. I think this is perfect, so far. Mouth: it sits right between the amazing Equinox and the lighter Jean Boyer, gathering the best of both. Superb leather, tobacco, polishes, cinnamon, touches of pine wood (or is that mizunara, that wood that adds £30 to any bottle of Scotch?), marmalade… Finish: only the finish is a tad sub-par, with a little green grittiness, around green walnuts and just grass. But it remains an awesome Mortlach. Some oak shavings in the aftertaste. Comments: I find this one, indeed, very Mortlachian. Bonus points just because of that.
SGP:461 - 89 points.

Mortlach 12 yo 2007/2021 'The Year of the Ox' (52.3%, Hunter Laing for Precious Liquors, 250 bottles)

We're in Asia here, naturally. Colour: gold. Nose: this one's a little earthier, almost a little muddy, with a fatter, waxier background and quite some tobacco too, dried herbs, bay leaves, walnut liqueur… All this is working very well. With water: some old-school muddiness, old pipe tobacco, old cellar, soot, saltpetre, old coal pit… Isn't this very Mortlachian too? Mouth (neat): good nutty and herbal sherry, full of tobacco, pepper, bitter oranges, walnuts, ginger tonic… It is almost some super-hot Campari. With water: it swims very well, letting oranges further come out, more of that Italian bitter, ginger tonic, walnuts… Finish: only the finish is a tad more indistinct, so less Mortlachian, but what was already in the bag is in the bag (right). Comments: Mortlach has the body of Lagavulin. There, I said it. Personal opinion, as always.
SGP:461 - 87 points.

Mortlach 10 yo 2012/2022 'Plume' (58%, Signatory Vintage for La Maison du Whisky, Antipodes, first fill sherry finish, cask #5)

Plume, which means feather in French, is perhaps not the name I would have chosen here (nah, it's the name of the whole series). Neither am I saying this will be an anvil, but let's make sure… Colour: amber. Nose: pretty similar to the Artist Collective, just punchier, chalkier, and even more on leather and tobacco. With water: there, this shoe polish, ashes, ground coffee, cocoa pods, then some distinct old balsamico, also soy sauce… Mouth (neat): very heavy and thick, shock-full of coffee liqueur, dark tobacco and pinewood. It's not often that we would find this much coffee in a spirit. Love coffee, but who doesn't. With water: this time it would rather move towards cigars and seeds (poppy, don't get me wrong). Some perfect peppery meatiness in the background. More tobacco, walnuts, chen-pi, cracked pepper… Finish: a little hot now, with some slightly turbulent spiciness, coffee dregs, cloves and caraway… Comments: I would imagine both the 'Artist' and this 'Plume' did come from the same parcel of casks. Winning combination.
SGP:461 - 89 points.

Mortlach 22 yo 1998/2020 (56.4%, Sansibar, sherry butt, 347 bottles)

Lovely drawing of the distillery; bottlers should sometimes make sure that labels can be easily removed for framing. Right, I know, fakers and forgers, the tardigrades of whisky… Colour: bronze gold. Nose: this is not a 'normal' cask, as I'm finding metallic notes that are more metallic than the metallic notes that one would usually find in Mortlach. Are we being clear? This coconut too is a little bizarre, these notes of stewed turnips and salsify too, but there's something eminently charming to all this. Let's dig deeper… With water: almost some very old Sauternes that went completely dry over the decades. Still some sulphuriness, stewed roots, cabbage… Mouth (neat): it's very meaty and a little sulphury, it's got these spicy, metallic, rather tropical aspects, and frankly, it's a strange Mortlach. Charming indeed, but strange. With water: same feelings. Finish: medium, earthy, rooty, a little sour, but once again with some coconut water in the background. Comments: rather loved this odd variant, but I think the bronze-ish colour gave it away, this was a rather deviant cask. Had it been patched or something? Or did a Diageo executive drop his Rolex into the butt at some point? Or did our sample bottle get out of the track? I shall enquire…
SGP:451 – (on hold - friends have confirmed that their bottles were perfect.).

A very clean one, please, because the sherries can get tiring…

Mortlach 13 yo 2009/2022 (59.1%, Hunter Laing, The First Editions, Whisky Shop Zurich, Switzerland, refill hogshead, cask #HL 19266, 263 bottles)

We believe everyone knows that Zurich is located in Switzerland, S. Colour: white wine. Nose: this will be quick, this is pure distillate-driven Mortlach, full of herbs, flowers and oils. Elder flowers, sunflower oil, pine nuts, roasted pistachios, dandelions and wisteria, then lemongrass and parsley and coriander and basil (touches), then just barley. Always love it when barley comes out like this. With water: wet fabric, porridge, chalk and mud, muesli… Isn't muesli very Swiss anyway? Plus a bit of the distillery's trademark sulphury side. Mouth (neat): amazing fatness and vivacity, perhaps a little too much pepper and chilli but why care, some chlorophyl, black propolis, ginger mints… Boy this is no chamber music. With water: water does it much good, brings out oranges, walnuts, bell pepper… Finish: long, rather on green grasses and spices, that is to say not too easy. Chilli and green pepper. Comments: not a very easy one, I believe it would need a good chunk of your precious time. Some aspects are amazing.
SGP:361 - 85 points.

We'll be back tomorrow, with more Mortlach…

Check the index of all Mortlach we've tasted so far