Tasting note by Best of Wines

Fruits 'n Meats

And we're halfway in this year's competition already! Time flies when you're having fun and whisky. This is a slightly older release, but we chose to include it nevertheless because we think it really is an amazing whisky, especially for its price. It also poses a slight challenge, because the discerning features of Mortlach were very well hidden behind a curtain of sweet fruitiness and fresh herbs. Let's see if our tasting notes match yours.

COLOUR
Straw gold
NOSE
At first whiff there is some freshness in there with hints of sweetness as well. Candied fruits, pineapple, baked apples and pears. A little further in the nose more mature aromas develop with hints of moccha, warm cherries and chocolate. This all continues to change into nice spices with hints of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice bound together by orange peel, peaches and raisins. A very playful nose that keeps developing and changing, sending you off in every direction. No peat though and if smokiness ever manages to come through, it is very light in the background and gone even before you can give it a name.
PALATE
Mouthwatering with sweetness and rich fruits, like having a bite of salted caramel along with peaches, dates, raisins, cherries and milk chocolate. But it also carries a hint of meatiness, some cured ham perhaps...? There is some nice heat to it, but the alcohol isn't overwhelming. It rather gives the whisky a small hint of pepper, enriching the white peppery note it already has.
FINISH
The finish is medium long and clean. The sweetness slowly dissolves in about a minute, leaving you with hints of mint and tea. Fresh, clean and some green herbs lingering on in the end.

CONCLUSION
The sherry-like fruitiness made the association with Speyside quite an obvious choice, but as we all know: in this competition nothing is obvious! However, this one was indeed a Speysider. And though it is not as bold and as outspoken as many Mortlach whiskies we tasted in the past, this certainly was a textbook Mortlach. Hints of cherries and chocolate along with the sweet and rich fruitiness and off course there is this distinctive umami meaty hint hiding behind the fruity and spicy layers. This meatiness that lingers ever so subtly in the background should have been the final piece of the puzzle leading to Mortlach. We love this friendlier character and especially at the current offer a fantastic value bottle of whisky!