Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 52.1%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon hogshead
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd.
Average price: € 150.00
Official website: www.cadenhead.scot
Vote: 79/100
Not exactly a common occasion to stumble (so to speak) upon a single cask of Mortlach with such significant ageing, and it’s thanks to one of our readers that I find myself with a copious sample of this April 2016 bottling for the well-known Scottish bottler’s golden label.
210 cask strength bottles, now almost impossible to find, which when they were, were priced I would say very honestly, certainly more than some NAS made by the distillery itself…
Tasting notes
On the nose, it shows its fruity and lovable side, effluvia of peach, apricot, ripe apple, coconut and melon emerge from the glass intertwined with honey, vanilla, baked cream and a touch of cinnamon, with a very fresh mineral vein intruding the aromas. Waxy brushstrokes in the background with a delicate but very present sulphurous note. With time the mineral part grows, almost of wet stone. Pleasant and captivating.
In the mouth, the fruity part loses its intensity in favour of the mineral and sulphurous components, and a faintly soapy sensation appears, not exactly pleasant. The fruit becomes more acidulous, with pineapple and grapefruit in the foreground, helping to dilute the soapy part that tends to fade over time until it almost disappears. Very light spicy touches, of white pepper and coriander, brushes of nuts and vegetable notes.
Not very long finish in which the soapy aspect returns to frame fruity, vegetal and mineral notes.
A very promising nose crashes on the palate, with that soap that just won’t let go despite the benefit of time in the glass, effectively ruining an experience with far different premises. Too bad.