Origin: Speyside (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 43.4%ABV
Ageing casks: Charred American and European
Chillfiltered: Yes
Additional coloring: Yes
Owner: Diageo
Average price: € 130.00
Official website: www.malts.com
Vote: 88/100
Imagine you are in Scotland, in your car, driving into Speyside, the roads full of pine trees, hills and streams flowing through the window.
At one point you catch a glimpse of a brown sign where it says Dufftown, there if you look up you begin to see the pagodas of Scottish distillery chimneys at every corner.
But one in particular catches your eye, Mortlach, Dufftown’s oldest distillery, founded in 1823, now with a capacity of 3,800,000 litres a year and owns 6 washbacks, 6 stills, 3 wash stills, 2 spirit stills and 1 middle still.
Its whisky is known for its sulphurous and meaty note and the distillery has a distinctive distillation plant, in fact, it produces malt with 2.81 distillations.
For years unknown, in 2014 it passed into the ownership of Diageo, which relaunched the brand with four bottlings, among which this Rare Old was the cheapest, with a price that already indicated its intention to place itself at the high end of the market, and the edition in 50cl bottles only increased the perception of a risky move, to say the least.
But we are interested in the content…
Tasting notes
Straw colour.
The nose starts off beautifully with hints of yellow fruit such as peach, pear and a slight apricot, while later hints of kiwi, walnut, black pepper and cinnamon are accentuated. The special feature is a mineral and salty note with a hint of freshly cut leather.
On the palate initially notes of cocoa, dark chocolate and tobacco. The spices then take over with hints of black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and a light touch of liquorice. As only Mortlach knows how to do, it is characteristically meaty.
Medium-long finish with notes of pear, cocoa, pepper, ginger, nutmeg and burnt wood, the latter also due to the ageing in oak barrels that have been charred on the inside.
I think this Mortlach could have given something more, it pays for a low alcohol content that is quite noticeable on the palate.
Like every release from this distillery I enjoyed it, I find it perfect paired with red meat or enjoyed while tinkering with the barbecue in a convivial moment in front of the fire.