There has been a lot of noise and dispute regarding Mortlach recently, After the latest news from Diageo (if you’ve been not heard about it for some odd reason i can not think about, due to the amount of rants, dialogues and discussions online, read this ). Indeed I was one of those who ranted online, and I am still quite not happy with what has happened to this lovely distillery being “kidnapped” into ultra premium lands, most of us will not be able to afford, or will not want to pay such a high price. Essentially it means no more affordable age statement expressions from Mortlach for us, I also fear there will be no more Indie bottlings when the current stash aging in the warehouses of some IB’s is all bottled and sold. Sad. This is a great opportunity to try just that, an indie bottling that carries age, bottled at 700 ml bottles and costs just a bit over 150 quid, and not silly money such as 600 quid for 0.5 litre bottles. oh well. I was very happy to get a sample of this one just in time, and no better time to review it, then now.
Mortlach 21 Year Old 1992 (cask 10143) – Directors’ Cut (D. Laing), 56.7%,£164
Nose: A lot of stewed red fruit. Black cherries. Berries , mint and pepper , quite earthy too. Maraschino cherries are more evident as time goes by and the liquid had breathed also balsamic vinegar.
Palate : Big sherry with rubber and thick juicy dark cherries soaked in sweet sherry. Peppery with chilly heat then getting fruitier with ripe plum jam, mint, and oak. Hint of tobacco and black tea.
Finish: Long, cherry mint candy, oak and earth.
Bottom line:
Superb. Dark. Thick and lovely. This is the kind of Mortlach we like and this is the kind of Mortlach people should be able to afford. If you’re a Mortlach fan you should be stocking up on IB’s quickly. They are not going to be around in a couple of years…
Score: 90/100
Official sample provided by D.Laing. Cheers guys!