Country: Scotland
Region: Highland (Speyside)
Brand: Mortlach 1990 (Scott's Selection)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 22 Years
ABV: 52.2 %
Date: 04/12/2013
Colour: Straw
Nose: Quite a Strong, Spicy and a tad Aggressive Nose. The Alcohol is still not fully integrated. Be sure to give it sufficient time in the glass. It reminds me a bit of an older Rye Whiskey. I get Dried Fruits, Nuts, Malt, Rye, Cinnamon, Citrus Peel, Syrup, Vanilla, Honey, Oak, Apricot, Peach, Orange and hints of Sherry, BBQ - and Soy Sauce.
Palate: Sweet, Warming and Spicy at the same time with Dried Fruits, Nuts (Almonds and Walnuts), Pine Needles, Peach, Citrus, Malt, Oak, Syrup, Floral Tones, Pepper, Cinnamon and Cloves.
Finish: Middle-Long, Hot and Spicy with (Chili) Pepper, Cloves, Syrup, Honey, Citrus, Espresso, Cocoa Powder, Buttered Toast and a hint of Strawberries.
I added a bit of Water and the Nose becomes Milder. Orange, Apricot, Heather, Floral Tones, Honey and Malt reveal the true Speyside character of this Mortlach. The Palate gains Fruity and Flowery tones but loses the Spicy bite. This is certainly a Single Malt you should try both neat and with some Water.
Rating: 87.5
Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 22 - Overall: 22
General Remarks: The Mortlach Distillery was founded around 1824 by James Findlater and is located in Dufftown, Banffshire. Mortlach distills mainly for Blends. The current owners (Diageo) are in the process of increasing capacity and re-launching the Mortlach as a Single Malt.
The Scott's Selection is a collection of Single Malts handpicked by Robert Scott, the former Master Blender at Speyside Distillers in Glasgow. All Single Malts in this collection are bottled at Cask Strength, are naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. The Mortlach we are tasting today was distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2012. It matured in a Refill Hogshead and costs around 175 US Dollars.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: With added Water, this Mortlach is a true Speysider with Malt, Fruit and Floral Tones. But neat this is a Strong, Hot and Spicy Single Malt that reminded me a lot of older Bourbons and Rye Whiskeys of superior quality. Personally I prefer it neat but I can see why people would add some Water to this Mortlach. Either way, there is enough to discover and there is no way of denying the quality of this Single Malt. If anything, the Nose is a bit agressive. It can't be cheap of course but it is reasonably priced for what it offers. Try it out if you can find it!
Jan van den Ende December 2013
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