By Gigian Chin
What makes Mortlach so special?
Have you heard of a 2.81 time distilled, un-peated whisky from Speyside before?
There are six stills used to produce Mortlach new make. They feed into each other in a complex way, and have unique shapes and sizes. They all use worm tube condensers, which give less copper contact than shell-and-tube condensers and therefor remove less sulfur.
With Mortlach having been founded nearly 200 years ago, the current distillation system began in 1897, and is extremely respected as a unique and high quality whisky.
The whiskies reviewed today – 12, 16 and 20 year old bottlings – form a revamped distillery line up which also has a very heavy hitting 40++ years old expression.
Tasting Notes: Mortlach 12 Years Old – The Wee Witchie
Nose: Leather, tobacco, rubber and a bit vegetative.
Palate: Allspice, butterscotch, and savory ham. Ashy with buttercream and a bit of vanilla.
Tasting Notes: Mortlach 16 Years Old – Distiller’s Pride
Appearance: Merigold
Nose: Sulphury and sour with pencil eraser, along with sweet honey and red fruit. Fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary and present along with light baking spices.
Palate: Massive texture, almost chewable. Figs, white chocolate, cardamom. Savory, with a hint of orange peel, marzipan, and nutmeg.
Tasting Notes: Mortlach 20 Years Old – Cowie’s Blue Seal
Appearance: Apricot.
Nose: The color transcends into smell as apricot is first noticed, along with walnuts, raisins and grapefruit. Blueberry and cinnamon is nicely nuanced as well.
