Mortlach 25 Year
$999.99
The 25 year is bottled at 43.4%, which the Master Blender feels is the best bottling strength for the distillery. it has been matured exclusively in 100% Re-Fill Ex-American oak barrels. Beautifully packaged, the bottles pay tribute to the distillery's onetime owner George Cowie who was also a Victorian architect involved in the design of railway bridges and viaducts.
Diageo stirred up a lot of attention when they decided to launch a core range of Mortlach this year, mainly due to the whiskies prices, and the fact that most markets will be getting 500ml bottles. Well, rest asured Canadians, our proximity to the US has ensured we get 750ml bottles, and while the price for this 25 year old expression is high, it is better the European prices, and the quality is there. Mortlach has long been a popular whisky with single malt drinkers, and until recently was primarily only available from independent bottlers. There was an official bottling under Diageo's Flaura & Fauna series, but this has been discontinued. The distillery counters the questions around price noting the very small number of barrels selected to ensure the best level of quality. The Mortlach 25 Year is available only in very small quantities.
Andrew's Tasting Note:
Nose: classic older whisky notes, smooth leather, silky white chocolate and beeswax and subtle sweet perfumes; salted caramel vanilla icecream, mangoes and papaya, powdered spice.
Palate: beautiful, very honeyed, more beeswax and tropical fruits with an overall antique character; even more elegant than the 18 but still very vibrant and fruity; layer upon layer; more fuzzy peaches, jujubes and some of the early browning apple.
Finish: very elegant, extremely smooth and layered; the waves keep coming.
Mortlach 12 Year
$97.99
One of the trio of whiskies in the newly revamped Mortlach range. Nicknamed the Wee Witchie in honour of the distillery's smallest still. The 12 year old was matured in Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Sherry and was crafted to showcase the distillery's meaty-sulphury character. 43.4%.
Producer Description: "An ode to our smallest yet most essential still, the "Wee Witchie", this 12 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky has been double cask matured in both European and American oak to enhance the distinctively rich and robust character that makes Mortlach whiskies legendary."
Mortlach 16 Year
$164.99
This 16 year old Mortlach was inspired by the distillery's long lost, but beloved, "Flora & Fauna" bottling from the 90's & 2000s. Part of the newly revamped Mortlach range released in 2018 after the disasterous prior range. Matured exclusively in ex-sherry and bottled at 43.4%.
Producer Description: "This single malt Scotch Whisky is inspired by the iconic and rewarding first bottling of the 16 year old released in 1992. It has been matured in only Sherry casks to impart rich, fruity and fragrant notes atop the beasty complexity synonymous with Mortlach."
Game of Thrones Mortlach 15 Year
$219.99
The Game of Thrones tie-in Mortlach is 15 years old.
Game of Thrones Mortlach 15 Year 46%
$224.99
The first 18 bottles have sold. More coming Tuesday December 24!
The final and "most sought after" bottle in the Game of Thrones Series is the Mortlach 15 Year Six Kingdoms. Matured in first-fill Sherry seasoned casks and finished in ex-Bourbon before bottlings at 46%.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: bright, honeyed and fruity; dried fruits, melons and sliced oranges; delicate spices, French vanilla and soft musty oak.
Palate: round, rich and nutty; building spices, leather, chocolate, caramel and a touch of tobacco; more musty dunnage notes, nutty tones, dried dark fruits and bright sliced orange; a touch of Christmas cake and liquid honey; a touch of that meaty character Mortlach is known for.
Finish: medium in length, nutty, spicy and leathery with chocolate and honey.
Comment: I had probably unfairly low expectations, after all the price is high for a 15 year old, but it is a good Mortlach, true to the style and very drinkable; am also happy they saw the light and bottled it at 46%; would like to see more of that!
G&M Distillery Label Mortlach 15 Year
$154.99
This whisky was featured on Day 14 of our 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar. You can check out Evan's blog post on the whisky here.
Matured in First Fill and Refill Sherry before bottling at 46%, this 15 year old Mortlach is part of the G&M Distillery Label range.
Mortlach NAS Special Releases 2023
$449.99
This is an NAS bottling of Mortlach, but with the price, we have to assume it has a bit of age behind it. The whisky was bottled at 58% after finishing in ex-Kanosuke Japanese Whisky and ex-Pinot Noir Casks.
Wormtub 10 Year Single Malt 56.9%
$76.99
This Speyside Single Malt Scotch was re-racked into first-fill ex-Sherry casks. It was bottled at 10 years old and 56.9% ABV.
What is this? I high strength, 10-year-old single malt that is also heavily sherry influenced AND at a reasonable price? Has the world gone mad?!? Not quite, but the crafty crew at That Boutique-y Whisky Company might have. TBWC cannot say which Speyside distillery this whisky was sourced from, but they do use worm tubs. Hmm... that narrows down the possibilities a bit. Craigellachie or Mortlach are likely the two most famous Speyside distilleries to utilize worm tubs, but they are not alone. Glen Elgin, Cragganmore, Balmenach, Benrinnes, and Speyburn do as well. There might be a few others too.
NAS Mortlach 10 Year
$224.99
Bottled at 48.5% this 10 year old Mortlach is said to be a powerful malt.
Producer Description
"This edition of our Notable Age Statements series is a 10 year old, cask strength and powerfully sherried Mortlach! It was filled into refill hogsheads in 2012, aged for just under 8 years, then consolidated and re-racked into 1st fill sherry butts. This butt was bottled at 48.5% for our Equinox & Solstice Winter 2022 edition, and also at natural cask strength for this edition of Notable Age Statements. It's a massive, dense and boisterously sherried example, full of Mortlach muscle and meatiness, but also bags of coffee, bitter chocolate and gloopy dark fruits."