Like many well-established Scottish distilleries, Mortlach sure has a well-furnished history stretching back to the days when the Excise Act was passed for Scotland.
One of Mortlach's claims to fame is being the first known distillery in Speyside, and the distillery was founded in 1823 by one James Findlater. Equal parts entrepreneur and pioneer, he established the first legal distillery in Dufftown almost immediately after the Excise Act was passed. Fun fact: He actually built his distillery on the site of an older illicit one!
Mortlach Distillery.
It remained the only distillery in Dufftown until Glenfiddich was founded in 1887. What many people don't know, is that Glenfiddich founder William Grant had previously worked at Mortlach distillery as its manager. Over 20 years prior to the founding of Glenfiddich, Mortlach was where Grant would gather the skills needed for his own distillery.
Those that want to read more about Glenfiddich can head on down here!
Producing up to 500 gallons a week, the whisky was sold nearly straight off the still to affluent individuals, with delivery usually done with pack ponies over rough hill tracks. In 1898, the distillery was also one of the first distilleries in the area to fully receive electrical lighting in 1898.
Such was the exclusivity of Mortlach's clientele that local newspaper The Elgin Courant wrote in 1868 that "There is not perhaps a distillery in Scotland that has so many private customers as Mortlach from whisky spirits are sent not only over the three kingdom's to families, but to America, India, China and Australia, in all of whisky Mr Cowie (The then-owner) has customers who prefer his distillation to all others".
In 1923 John Walker and Sons bought the distillery and to this day, a significant amount of Mortlach's product is used in Johnnie Walker's blended scotch.
Almost a century later in 2014, owner Diageo launched four luxury single malts under the Mortlach name, resuming a line of offerings as the distillery did so many years ago. Notably last year, a 31 Year Old scotch bottled by independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail won the title of 'Whisky of the Year' at the annual International Whisky Competition. Said bottle was made by Mortlach Distillery in 1989!
Today, we're looking at three of these offerings in particular; The 12 Year Old, 16 Year Old and 20 Year Old.
Let's get in!
Mortlach 12 Year Old, The Wee Witchie - Tasting Notes
The youngest of Mortlach's core range, this whisky is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
Colour: Amber
Aroma: It starts off rather fruity - stewed strawberries, plums, apricots, somewhat close to an assortment of fruit jam. There’s also some brown sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg spices mixed in. There’s some spirit-y notes that makes it feel a little young, even though the flavours are rather expressive and feels richer. There’s also abit of wax and resin, a little plastic-y, and a little sour, which does sort of give this sense of wild strawberries that’s been cooked down. At the back is more earthiness - rainforest floors, soaked wood, some earthiness of angelica roots. It’s altogether a mix of sweet and sour candied fruits with this base of damp earth.
Taste: It’s still fruity here, but goes a little thinner. That sweet and sour fruitiness is giving strawberry lime candy, still a little synthetic yet confectionary. One reviewer called it Fox’s berry candy - and that really hits the nail on the head. There’s some bits of orange marmalade, candied ginger, before more of that earthiness of soil and maybe a little bit of cacao shavings. More of the Sherry flavours coming through of prunes and figs; fruitcake, some leather and tobacco too.
Finish: More of that citrusy note but here it’s like a burnt orange peel, burnt brown sugar like a creme brûlée top. Still some of that wet forest floor and damp brown leaves. Also this slight oiliness here of dried Italian saucisson, along with a little bit of the rind too. This comes with a little bit of that nuttiness of walnuts.
My Thoughts
This felt like a rather eclectic whisky that was certainly very expressive - the flavours are pretty easy to pick out, and for sure it’s giving a whole bunch of fruits, although that said, the sulphur-y notes are also pretty prominent (which goes both ways depending on whether you like that or not). What I do wish was that it was heftier, thicker and richer on the palate, and also without that spirit-y note on the nose. That aside, this is a pretty interesting whisky that has alot going on, pretty approachable as well, and definitely wakes your senses up with its the numerous flavour touchpoints its giving. I actually found this pretty fun, and I’d drink it again. It’s unusual in a way that made me snap out of my at times boredom with how whiskies have tended to converge in flavours.
Mortlach 16 Year Old, Distiller’s Dram - Tasting Notes
At 16 years old, this particular expression goes heavy with the sherry influences from its aging in a mix of first-fill and refill sherry casks.
Colour: Amber
Aroma: Quite punchy, but with time it does mellow out to a richness of classically Sherry notes - lots of raisins, figs, prunes, a little bit of crushed walnuts, tobacco leaves, wet moss, well worn leather, along with a good spoonful of honey. There’s an outline of candied orange, a little bit of cherry hard candy too, cola syrup, as well as a vague sense of crushed red fruit jam, perhaps wild raspberries, a little tart and sour. With even more time, it continues to brighten with more on apricots and honey, with some stewed plums. It’s quite evocative of a 50’s kind of vibe. A little musty even with some of that lacquered wood that is reminiscent of cigar lounges.
Taste: Noticeably more mellow and richer here, the big Sherry notes carry through with those prunes, raisins, figs, a little bit of mocha and chocolate too. Some orangettes too, with a nicely weaved in bit of forest floors, cloves, tobacco leaves. A dusting of cocoa powder too. There’s that mustiness of antique stores again. Beneath that is a subtle but rich presence of honey, apricots, and some sugared ginger candy. The palate has an oiliness to it that makes it very satisfying and almost waxy.
Finish: The darker and richer flavours push all the way through into the finish before lightening up to honey, caramel, creme brûlée, a little buttery in texture. There’s a savouriness that emerges, along with a bitterness of oversteeped black tea.
My Thoughts
This felt like a real step up - it’s got a whole lot of presence and packs bigger and bolder flavours that are backed up by richness and a more muscular structure. It certainly conveys the classic old school Sherry style really well, and beyond the 12 Year Old, seems to have cleaned itself up and become more focused on expressing a distinctive flavour profile. It’s less volatile, more cohesive, and feels more aligned on what it wants to achieve. It’s got power, depth, and whilst at times can be a little punchy especially on the nose, does mellow out on the palate. What stood out in particular to me was the mustiness that gave it an air of sophistication. Perhaps the only drawback here comes on the finish where the tannins become just a little too overzealous and potent, which translates as a fair big of bitterness.
Mortlach 20 Year Old, Cowie’s Blue Seal - Tasting Notes
Like the 16 years old, this expression is also aged solely in sherry casks, although it is not exactly disclosed whether it mirrors the 16 years old's mix of first-fill and refill sherry casks.
Colour: Amber
Aroma: Rather punchy, with immediately some meatiness of air dried meats and saucisson, some walnuts too, it’s quite a prominent rancio note at the start, along with a slight metallic quality, like a bag of tin coins. It’s borders on wet dough and a little bit of soy sauce even. Beneath that, as it peels away, it shows up with more on those classically Sherry notes of mulled wine, cooked plums, prunes, as well as a trace outline of oranges. In between there’s a slight bit of wine that’s gone flat that’s a little sour, along with some dustings of cocoa, forest floors, tobacco leaves and some leather.
Taste: The meatiness and oiliness comes through on the palate as well. Here it’s a little more mellow and less striking, instead bringing out a more balanced yet fuller body. There’s still a slight bit of that rancio of meatiness of air dried meats, along with the walnuts, but here it’s given more richness in the form of toffee, brown sugar and dark chocolates that holds it together along with the raisins, dried prunes and candied oranges. There’s also some pomegranates, more of a vanilla cream presence too, and a little bit of oaky tannins, even a touch of oversteeped black tea.
Finish: A little more drying with the tannins coming through a little bit more here. Burnt candied oranges, hawthorn candy, with a few drops of soy sauce for that umami savouriness. It ends on a slightly more earthy note of dark chocolate, cocoa powder and forest floors.
My Thoughts
Interestingly, the Mortlach 20 Year Old seems to take a rather big turn from the direction I had thought it was headed in - here we get a much more gentle whisky on the palate where it shows alot of balance between the meatiness and the sweeter notes. Initially the nose would have you think this was going to pound heavy on the palate, with the nose still being heavy on the rancio - and yet somehow I find myself liking the nose on this alot, it’s just so distinctive. Nevertheless, the palate was alot more tame than I expected, and really lent itself much more friendly to a wider set of palates - I might even call it elegant. That said, the richer flavours on the palate does at times feel like it’s more than its body can handle, which might make the body come off a little thinner than is ideal, even though the body is a pretty solid medium. The finish was still very much packed with flavours in store and continued on this trajectory of umami savouriness meets earthiness. Overall, the Mortlach 20 Year Old is very interesting and I find myself rather impressed with its balance and that it comes off incredibly distinct and feels the most Mortlach-y of the trio.
Overall
The general theme for Mortlach was always going to be the meat-y quality as a result of the heavy use of Sherry and the worm tubs which amplifies that. Here we see how that evolves and shapes up with age, all of them being fairly consistent in keeping close to the Mortlach identity.
The Mortlach 12 feels like all the pieces of the puzzle are there but we don’t quite see them come together just yet, still quite volatile and a little eclectic - like your quirky friend who you don’t know where they’ll be in 10 years - it’s however very interesting and quite a good surprise for whisky drinkers who might be a little bored with the standard fare. The Mortlach 12 has the propensity to surprise in a very positive way.
The Mortlach 16 is where we start to really see it take shape. It’s starting to show how that meatiness ties in to the whisky and applies it well to its bolder and more muscular structure, with perhaps just a few refinements left to iron out at the finish. It also feels very old school in how it expresses itself - like whisky from a bygone era. It sports a very nice mustiness like that of an antique store and feels more cohesive - like a basketball team just starting to get into its groove.
The Mortlach 20 is probably the most “Mortlach” of the lot - it’s much more balanced and refined, with a more tame meatiness that runs more cohesively with the sweetness and earthiness. Because of the really big flavours here, it can at times feel like its too big for the canvas, but overall it’s still very distinctive and that’s what I like most about it. It’s expressive and unabashedly itself.
This is one of those rare times when the core range stacks up really nicely where you see its signature house style evolve and develop along the way, and whilst each of them were pretty tasty in their own way, it does trend upwards in quality with age. Each higher age statement does come with a much more refined whisky (as does the price tag). If this was a trio of miniatures - it would make a perfect gift. Unfortunately (for my wallet)t, I have to say that the Mortlach 20 was my favourite, although I will take the Mortlach 16 any day.
 |
Lok Bing Hong A budding journalist that loves experiencing new things and telling people's stories. I have 30 seconds of coherence a day. I do not decide when they come. They are not consecutive. |
Get the latest news, recommendations and exclusive offers, poured straight into your inbox! Subscribe here.
More To Explore
Call for Contributors
Want To Make a Good Drink Last Forever?
