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Mortlach
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Mortlach
distillery is located in Dufftown, Keith,
Banffshire and was founded in 1823 by James Findlater, although
1824 saw Alexander Gordon & James Macintosh become partners.
Distilling ceased at Mortlach after about a decade and fell
silent as a distillery, although it was used as a brewery for
some years until John Gordon took over, installing new equipment
and reopening the distillery in 1852.
George Cowie joined John Gordon in 1854 and created a new
company John Gordon & Co. |
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When
John Gordon passed away in 1867 George Cowie became sole
owner and then in 1895 his son George Cowie Junior joined the
company.
1897 saw
the number of stills
doubled from three to six and at the same time a railway
siding was added which connected Mortlach distillery to the
Dufftown railway station.
In 1923
the Cowie family sold Mortlach to John Walker & Sons who in turn
eventually became part of DCL in 1925, then SMD in 1930 and is
today part of Diageo. |
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Mortlach (OB) |
General whisky characteristics: Rich, complex, sherry, fruit
and flora |
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Mortlach,
16y, Flora & Fauna, 43% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Nose:
Sherry, wood
and raisins.
Palate: Sherry and wood come to the fore, but there is
also a presence almost of tangerine zest. The finish is short as
it quickly fades.
Overall Impression: A flavoursome dram, albeit with a
weak and short finish.
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Mortlach,
16y, Flora & Fauna, 43% ABV
2011 edition?
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
Reviewed as part of
MMA 2011
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Light sunny
amber
Nose: Lots of wood and
resin notes here with a sense of freshly cut aged oak. The
whisky then opens further to offer hints of aroamtic grasses
and hay in an old barn. Then further with slightly bitter
damson and plum.
Palate: A very smooth
and creamy mouth-feel with flavours of aged oak, plums, figs
and something I can't quite place but it suggests slightly
sharp (as in bitter - spicy) fruit. The whole palate is realyl
quite rich.
Finish: Medium to long.
Overall Impression: An
enjoyable rich whisky, maybe just a little unbalanced with
that bitterness.
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G&M "Book of
Kells" series,
Mortlach,
50y, 40% ABV
Distilled December 1942, bottled January 1993
Original cost of
this bottle;
Unknown, but I suspect €€€€€
to €€€€€
Dram-atics "Classics" review |
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Glass: Glencairn
Colour: Teak or subdued
amber.
Nose: An
initial
fruitiness combines plums with dark cherries alongside antique
oak. It also suggests an oiliness or waxiness which is
surprisingly meaty too.
Palate: A distinct
nuttiness offers hazelnut and almond (marzipan) with that
oakiness. There is even a gentle herbal quality to this
excellent whisky.
Finish: Creamy, delicate
and really quite gentle.
Overall Impression: For
such an aged whisky this is surprisingly light and delicate.
Yes, the characteristic is of richer elements, but in a
delightfully gentle way. I must also offer my heartfelt thanks
to fellow Maniac Ulf who brought this to our 15y Anniversary
in Scotland where we enjoyed it one evening as an after dinner
malt. Thank you Ulf for your generosity and a truly excellent
whisky.
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C&S Dram
Collection,
Mortlach,
16y, bottled 2008, 58% ABV
Cask #4232 (sherry
Butt),
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Rich gold
Nose: Sweet rubber and
seaweed on an Atlantic beach with overtones of smoky toffee
after some minutes.
Palate: A sweet roast
beef sandwich with a cherry sauce.
With
4 drops of water: Sweeter with more toffee
Finish: Long
Overall Impression: What
a different, but really good dram and excellent value for money!
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G&M,
Mortlach,
12y, early 1970's bottling with white label
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
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Nose: Amazing. Not only
sherry and almonds, but lilac and hints of lavender. This is an
extremely aromatic Mortlach!
Palate: It does have
that gentle Christmas Cake sensation. One of currants, raisins,
nuts, sherry and maybe even black cherries in the background.
But all this is overlayed with that wonderfully aromatic,
perfumed lilac and lavender. Not heavily, but it is present and
makes for a really good dram. If anything the actual feel of the
whisky in the mouth is a little watery or thin, but the flavour
more than makes up for that.
Overall Impression: I
really like Mortlach in general, but if only they still made
them like this! I want more
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D. Laing 'Old
Malt Cask',
Mortlach,
distilled March 1984, 50% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
The
photo show the general OMC presentation and is not this Mortlach |
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Nose: A hard one to
identify fully, some citrus and flora with hints of smoke
Palate: Some spice,
orange and other faint citrus notes. However, the big surprise
here was its similarity to a Caol Ila. I often say that CI
reminds me of the peat-smoking chimneys of the Yorkshire Dales.
Well, this was just like that.
Overall Impression:
Deceptively good!
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SMCC,
Mortlach,
distilled 1989, bottled 2001, cask #259 (sherry), 54.6% ABV
Single
Malt Connoisseur's Club (Munich)
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€ |
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Glass: My beloved
Spiegelau
Colour: Wonderfully rich
gold, just like a sherry cask should be.
Nose: Marzipan, nuts and
raisins. All bound together in a bunch of fresh herbs with just
a faint dash of mint. The more I nose it, the more the herbs
fade and give way to the marzipan and nuts. There's still a
little sting here, even after 6 or 7 nosings. My mouth is
watering as I long to taste this one!
Palate: Different, very
different, but very good. What do I mean? Firstly, it's creamy,
very creamy. It initially hits the palate with a burst of
tingle, which fades quite quickly, then returns with a vengeance.
At the same time, the initial flavour is one of nuts and raisins
with a little marzipan. This also fades quickly, but almost
immediately returns with double strength (of flavour).
The finish is long, very
long. But the flavours change as the seconds pass. The nuts and
marzipan suddenly give way to a burst of those fresh herbs where
violet is pushed to the fore, just for a second or two. The
whole thing then just fades slowly into a very long and pleasant
experience.
Overall Impression: I
want more!
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Mortlach,
18y,
1991-2009, 56.9% ABV
Bottled for
www.Mortlach.de
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
to €€€€€
(I believe)
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Very rich and
dark, almost treacle toffee
Nose: Lots of floral
wood, traditional wax polish, aromatic dark fruits and overall,
slightly dry.
Palate: Rich, creamy and
quite 'solid' in flavour with aromatic dark fruits, some
coconut then woody and quite nutty.
Finish: Long and quite
perfumed.
Overall Impression:
Positively delightful, aromatic, lively but not too complex. |
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Mortlach,
12y,
23.6.1993 - 13.12.2005,
46% ABV
Sherry
Cask No.5213, bottled for www.Mortlach.de
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Shiny light
amber
Nose: Very fresh
outdoors style with lots of open countryside and ligthly
perfumed grasses. This is merged with the fruitiness of passion
fruit and guava alongside finest traditional furniture polish.
Palate: Fresh and fruity
countryside with hints of coconut. Also slightly dry and
slightly metallic towards the finish.
Finish: Long and dry.
Overall Impression: A
most unusual Mortlach; light, fruity, dry and slightly metallic?
But still pretty good!
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Signatory, Mortlach,
20y, 17.9.1990 -
18.1.2011, 57.9% ABV
Cask Strength
edition, refill sherry butt No.6069, bottle 308 of 521
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
Reviewed as part of
MMA 2011
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Golden amber,
perhaps light teak.
Nose: Rich and glowing
bonfire embers with a definite floral character. Toasted
currants and recently polished antique oak. This is an extremely
vibrant but rich nose which fades only very slowly over time.
Palate: Delightfully
creamy mouth-feel just before a massive burst of toasted oak and
currants takes over. This expands to become slightly peppery and
then even offers a faint suggestion of coconut towards the
finish.
Finish: Long, very long,
oaky, nutty and even that suggestion of coconut.
Overall Impression: A
wonderful example of Mortlach.
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MMcD, Mortlach,
13y,
1997,
46% ABV,
one of 485 bottles
Bourbon / Sauternes
cask No.001, finished (sorry ACE'd) in Chateau D'Yquem
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
Reviewed as part of
MMA 2011
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Light amber
Nose: Vanilla with hints
of raspberry. The vanilla then intensifies and gains a slight
leafiness which also continues to expand with time in the glass.
Eventually there's
a hint of apple & peach.
Palate: Initially creamy
and slightly leafy vanilla. This 'grows' very rich to suggest
liquorice. There's also a slight suggestion of smokiness
although the creamy vanilla is always present in the background.
Finish: Medium to long and
slightly dry.
Overall Impression:
There's lots happening here, but perhaps the orchestra isn't
quite in time with each other. It's just a little unbalanced.
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Sestante, Mortlach,
21y,
1997, 40% ABV
Original cost of
this bottle; Unknown, now a collectible
Live Dram-atics review
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Bright cork
Nose:
The nose initially offers a musty woodiness but
this soon expands to what I can only describe as roast beef
which is soon combined with a quite unique creaminess, could it
even be yorkshire pudding? Oh my goodness, what more could a
Yorkshireman dream of? Sadly this soon fades and returns to a
musty leafiness. Was I dreaming?
Palate:
Very light, leafy
and musty, in fact it's almost farmy, but not quite. It's more
'outdoors' and open countryside than cowshed
Finish: Long
Overall Impression:
A light 'outdoors'
whisky which, thanks to that roast beef and yorkshire pudding is
most unusual, but most welcome.
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Chieftain's, Mortlach,
18y,
57.6% ABV
Distilled April
1997, bottled November 2015
First fill sherry
butt No.5242, one of 629 bottles
Bottled for
Taiwan, Tiger's finest selection No.8
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Treacle toffee
Nose: Surprisingly
fresh, herbal fresh with accompanying hints of banana stem and
almost, but not quite liquorice root.
Palate: Mouth-warming as
it spreads across the palate and a definite suggestion of
liquorice root. After 3-4 minutes in the glass it turns more
herbal as per the nose.
Finish: Long with that
freshness and liquorice root.
Overall Impression:
Surprising with that herbal freshness and liquorice root, really
enjoyable.
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Chieftain's, Mortlach,
18y,
58% ABV
Distilled April
1997, bottled November 2015
Sherry
butt No.5238, one of 623 bottles
Bottled for Asia
Palate Assoc. Taiwan
Original cost of
this bottle; €€€€€
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Rich, dark
treacle toffee.
Nose: Very intense with
a dark fruitiness (raisins, prunes, dates), then some woodiness,
leather and old dusty books.
Palate: A surprisingly
creamy but peppery mouth-feel, lots of that dark fruitiness from
the nose making it sweet and rich. Lovely.
Finish: Extremely long.
Overall Impression: What
an excellent sherry cask whisky.
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SMWS, Mortlach,
19y,
58.1% ABV
SMWS 76.100 "Cherry
Walnut Loaf"
Original
cost of this bottle;
Unknown
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Rich and dark,
Teak? Almost dark Amber
Nose: Ahhh that
comforting sherry cask aroma of mild furniture polish with
accompanying toasted nuttiness, dark fruits (currants, raisins
dark cherries) and a wonderful mild perfume in background.
Palate: Woody, nutty and
lots of those dark fruits, so obviously a typical sherried
Mortlach which is mouth-coatingly big on the palate.
Finish: Very very long and
luxurious.
Overall Impression:
Delightful Mortlach oozing character. |
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