Mortlach 25 Year (1994), Connoisseurs Choice
Whisky : Mortlach 25 Year, Connoisseurs Choice
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 55.9%
Cask : First Fill Sherry Butt
Age : 25 Year (Distilled 31 Aug. 1994, Bottled 28 Aug. 2020)
Nose : Rich meat, fruit, and spice. Bison steaks and pepper crusted aged porterhouses came to mind right away. When impressions of fruit juice and berries arrived suddenly it was all Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. The aroma was incredibly rich with faint cigar smoke and leather arm chairs. Inviting notes of dark chocolate covered strawberries and mocha developed with more time and became stronger with a few drops of water.
Palate : Thick and meaty with notes of Turkish delight, dried fruits, and peppery spice. Waves of dried berries crested into lingonberry jam, burning candles, and varnished mahogany. Fruity sugars transitioned toward pepper crusted steaks, charred gristle, and a sweet shoyu umami. Overtime the dram became creamy almost like buttery well marbled meat melting in the mouth. At the end were nutty notes of roasted almonds and cashews.
Finish : Lingering dried fruits and tobacco with a mild dryness
Score : 9
Mental Image : "Happy Valentines' day, Bison!” - Muskox
Notes : This was precious cargo— too precious to waste a single drop. I had not had a whole lot of experience with Mortlach until recently. When I had the opportunity to try a couple twenty year old malts as well as include a few younger ones in a local tasting, I figured it was time.
Wow, this was good. This had an incredible richness and a lovely meatiness— two things I had been told to expect with Mortlach due to the worm tubs used to condense the spirit. Craigellachie, one of my other favorite distilleries, is also well known for their worm tubs and the thicker mouthfeel it can often give the spirit.
This was absolutely divine— a perfect balance between fruit, meat, and spice along with an incredible depth of other flavor notes that remained coherent as they transitioned between different levels. There was so much going on here to taste and think about— or just melt into the chair while mindlessly enjoying.
Overall, an incredible dram and one I deeply regret not grabbing when it was on Finedrams and other webstores.
Image Credit : thewhiskyexchange.com
