Mortlach distillery

Mortlach whisky

2002 - For a long time the closest thing to an official bottling of Mortlach were the licensed bottlings by Gordon & Macphail. However, the Mortlach 19yo 'Manager's Dram' (55.8%, OB, Refill cask, 2002) marked a new beginning.
 
2004 - The Mortlach 32yo 1971/2004 (50.1%, OB) is released.
 
2009 - The Mortlach 1997/2009 'Managers' Choice' (57.1%, OB, C#6802, 240 Bts.) appears.
 
2013 - Diageo unveils an £18 million investment plan to double the capacity at Mortlach distillery 'and promote it as a standalone single malt'. So I guess this means that a large chunk of that money will be spent on advertising and PR, and not on improving (or even maintaining) the quality of the whisky. So, more brand, less product...

1) In 1886 a distillery employee by the name of William Grant left Mortlach after almost twenty years.
Apparently he had learned quite a bit about the fine art of distillation during that time; within a year after he had left Mortlach he built his own distillery; Glenfiddich.

2) Mortlach malt whisky is an important component of the Johnnie Walker Black Label blend.

3) The Mortlach distillery was built around a well that had been previously used for illicit whisky production.

4) Mortlach ceased to use the traditional method of direct firing under their stills in 1971.

5) Larch worm-tubs on a platform outside the still house are still used to condense the spirit.

6) Mortlach features five traditional 'dunnage' warehouses that provide storage capacity for 21,000 casks.
 

Mortlach 20yo 1990/2010 (56,5%, Wildon & Morgan Barrel Selection, Sherry wood C# 4412)
Nose: Coffee and odd, heavy farmy aroma's. One of a kind, that's for sure. Some odd fruits like a finished malt.
Maggi and sellery and complex herbal notes emerge after a few minutes. Mocca? Keeps evolving over time.
Taste: Fruity, compressed and sweet. A solid foundation, but most points are aerned on the nose.
Score: 90 points - for some strange reason, a LOT of casks from 1990 ended up with independent bottlers.
However, I should point out that it needed at least 30 minutes to gradually rise from 87/88 points to the 90's.

Mortlach 18yo 1990/2009 (57.3%, Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection, Sherry butt, Cask# 4433)
Nose: Sweet with old, heavy fruits. A whisky with a typical sherried profile with not too much wood.
Taste: Big, sweet, fruity and sherried - but easily drinkable as well. Matches the nose quite well.
The fruity layer seems slightly 'pressure cooked' like a finish. Loads of lovely, lovely tannins in the finish.
Score: 87 points - the profile was quite similar to that of last year's 18yo 1990 bottling by Hart Brothers.

Mortlach 18yo 1990/2008 (46%, Hart Brothers Finest Collection, First Fill Sherry Butt)
Nose: Heavy, old fruits. Rhubarb? Complexity with plenty of spices and organics. Nutmeg? Speculaas?
Pineapple. Very complex with the accent on the sour end of the spectrum. Saltier & leathery after a while.
However, the fruity elements remain very dominant; this feels almost like a wine finished whisky.
Taste: Big, with fruits and menthol. Very pleasant, but it falls apart if you let it breathe for too long.
It feels much more powerful than the relatively civilised 46%. Medium dry finish with some tannins.
Score: 86 points - but with a littlle more balance and staying power it could have approached 90 points.

Mortlach 18yo 1990/2008 (56.8%, Wilson & Morgan, Sherry Butt, C#4422)
Nose: Odd fruity notes. Pressure cooked? A foreign whisky? Weird, but expressive. Difficult to score.
Some meaty notes as well. This certainly has some depth - but some rough edges as well.
Taste: Strong wood influence. Odd fruits like the nose. Tannains and a hint of smoke.
Fruits and very strong tannins in the finish with a hint of menthol. Feels quite harsh on the palate.
Score: 81 points - Recommendable, but it didn't really stand out at the MM Awards 2008.
That being said, I feared that my score was a few points too low when I tried it again later on.

Mortlach 1954/2008 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail Rare Old)
Nose: Passion fruit and other lovely deep fruits. Some citrus too. Dried apples?
After a few minutes some spices emerge - a LOVELY nose that eventually drags it into silver territory.
A combination of an (almost) gold nose and a bronze palate.
Taste: Fruity and smooth with a touch of something medicinal in the background. Hint of pine too?
Fruity evolves to floral after a few minutes. Young wood in the dry finish. Hey, a touch of something peaty?
Score: 86 points - a fine malt, but then again I'd expect something more at this age and price.

Mortlach 1991/2007 (56.4%, Berry Brothers & Rudd, Cask #4227)
Nose: Strong fruits - a finished whisky? Some rough edges.
Taste: Closely matches the nose: strong but somehow artificial fruits.
Wood is the dominant factor after some breathing.
Score: 82 points - recommendable, but not especially impressive for a Mortlach.

Mortlach 11yo 1992/2004 (46%, Douglas Laing McGibbons Provenance, Autumn/Summer)
Nose: Much grainier than I expected. Light and a little creamy. Vegetables.
Some spices emerge after a few seconds. Hints of smoke and oil? Flowery?
Cod oil, growing stronger over time and slowly pulling it from the upper 70's.
Taste: Slick, smooth start, growing fairly harsh towards the finish. Pinch of salt?
Fairly flat and dry on the palate. Hint of oil? Finally a malty sweetness lifts it above average.
Score: 76 points - this becomes likeable enough, but doesn't leave a lasting impression.

Mortlach 1990/2004 (43%, The Spirit Safe, 415 Bottles)
Nose: Light and a little grainy. Apple. Lemon. Maltier over time. Almost Lowlandish.
Sweet. This is pleasant enough, but in the end it shows little depth or development.
Taste: Smooth start, growing hotter and sweeter in the centre. This is a throat burner.
It remains quite powerful for quite some time, but grows grittier. No real depth here.
A little woody and winey in the finish, but not too much. Pretty well balanced, actually.
Score: 76 points - not very challenging, but perhaps that not always necessary.

Mortlach 13yo 1990/2004 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask, 384 Bottles)
Nose: Wow!!! A load of sherry first. It settles down, but it leaves some strong organics.
Mushrooms? Leather? Now some fruits emerge as well. Rice crackers. Very peculiar.
Taste: hey, that's interesting! Fruit and smoke. Lots of smoke! Woody and winey.
Liquorice. Herbal - like Swiss cough bonbons. This one is really 'on the edge'.
The amount of smoke is amazing - this would appeal to lovers of Ardmore and G'Garioch.
Score: 88 points - this is a very extreme malt; it disguises itself like an Islay whisky.

Mortlach 12yo 1990/2003 (46%, Hart Brothers, Sherry cask, Distilled May 1990)
Nose: Lovely! Sweet and sherried, just the way I like it. Then spices and organics.
A hint of smoke. Bakery aroma's. Dried apples? Very big and round - a classic profile.
Over time the organics grow ever more complex, but the nose doesn't 'jump at you'.
Taste: Hmmm. Quite dry and smoky in the start - a little too much so for my tastes.
A tad winey with lots of tannins in the finish. Another one that loses points here.
Score: 86 points - but based on the nose alone I was ready to go for the 90's.

Mortlach 14yo 1988/2003 (43%, Signatory, Sherry Butt #4724)
Nose: Not very sherried, it seems - only the organics stand out. Creamy.
Quite subtle. Maybe a faint hint of smoke? This wasn't a fresh cask, I'd say.
Taste: Dry and a little bitter in the start. Faint hint of smoke or peat, perhaps?
A beer-like prickle towards the finish. I like the nose but it tastes below average.
Score: 76 points - the nose is quite interesting, but I couldn't really recommend this malt whisky.

Mortlach 13yo 1990/2003 (58.6%, SMWS) - a sample from Serge.
Nose: Aaah. Old sherry and complex organics. Is that a hint of smoke, perhaps?
Yes, I think it is. There are obvious similarities with the last one, but this is harsher.
At first I thought about a score in the upper 80's but this one lacks some definition.
Taste: Sweet and fruity. Smoky. Oaky. Tannins. It seems sweeter with time. Great.
With some water it turns a bit dry and slightly dry in the finish. Best enjoyed neat.
Score: 84 points - this twin bottling of Mortlach whisky doesn't seem quite as complex as the last one.

Mortlach 13yo 1989/2002 (59.4%, Blackadder Raw Cask, Sherry Butt #5149)
Nose: Quite sharp - but that's not surprising. Sherried and malty beneath the alcohol.
Late summer fruits. Mon chery - cherry liqueur filled chocolates? Growing complexity.
Toffee and a hint of smoke. Then some faint spices and organics. Very pleasant!
Taste: Sweet and fruity, growing smokier towards the finish. A little flat in the tail.
A generous dash of water brought lots of liquorice to the surface. Still quite strong.
Score: 87 points - it loses just one or two points on the palate - nice but dim.

Mortlach 12yo 1988 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Butt #2636, Bottled +/- 2000, 930 Bottles)
Nose: Lots of organics here. Something 'veggy' and grassy in the background.
Interesting, but you have to work at it to bring everything to the surface. Smoke?
Taste: A flat start followed by a chewy centre. Cookies and bubblegum. An odd one.
A little smoky. Sadly, it grows drier and drier towards the finish. Quite unusual.
Score: 80 points - just because it's so unique. I can't say I really like the palate.
 

And there's more to tell about Mortlach...

These were not all (official & independent) bottlings of Mortlach Scotch whisky I've tried over the years.
Besides, these tasting notes only reflect my own, personal opinion; your tastes might be different from mine.
Fortunately, you can find the scores and tasting notes from up to two dozen other whisky lovers in the 'Malt Maniacs Monitor' - an independent whisky database with details on more than 15,000 different whiskies from Scotland and the rest of the world. Visit the Mortlach page on the MMMonitor and select 'scorecard view' if you want to know how other whisky lovers felt about the dozens of Mortlach expressions that were released in recent years. However, if you'd like to learn more about whisky in general (and single malt Scotch whisky in particular), you might want to check out the Beginner's Guide to Scotch whisky (10 chapters filled with everything you need to fully enjoy and appreciate a glass of single malt whisky) or the mAlmanac (sort of a rudimentary whisky shopping guide.)