It’s been both a slow and a busy week here. Not many posts in the last week or so, mostly because I’ve been quite busy, or so tired from being busy that blogging was far from the first time on my mind. Anyway, I thought to get back with something special.

This Mortlach was released last year and virtually the entire whisky world couldn’t get enough of it. I managed to get the last bottle from The Whisky Shop Dufftown. I tried picking it up during our Autumn holiday, but they forgot to get it from storage. Luckily, Mike being a nice guy, he shipped it to me quickly.

But, back to the whisky itself. I saw this being people’s whisky of the year and such. It got rave reviews up to 93 points, if memory serves. So, I had to get my hands on some of it. A bottle share was done and I ended up with something around 15 cl to get through.

Let’s do tasting notes before I ramble on.

Sniff:
A very gentle, but very present layer of oak. There’s some scorched beef, the crispy black bits. Some old apple, and a whiff of nuts. Charcoal, straw. There’s a certain scent of freshly fallen leaves in autumn. Not the brittle ones, and not entirely fresh either.

Sip:
Not as sharp as I expected, but not flat either. It’s very dry and straw like. There’s a bit of a beefy note again. The charry bits with charcoal and burning grass. Some apple and nuts. After a few seconds there’s some chili heat.

Swallow:
The finish starts pretty hot, but the warmth is very nice. There’s a slight bitter note with lots of oak and some apple. Quite long, and a bit more gentle.

Well. This is a bit of weird thing. As in, yes, it’s a good whisky. I bet some people love it. I don’t think it’s bad either, but I’m not in love with it either. I recognize the quality, but I think it got a bit overhyped before I tried it. I strapped in for a whisky-of-the-year experience and that just didn’t happen.

When I picked up the bottle it cost around € 250, and it’s now up to € 300. I don’t think it’s that good, unless this restraint kind of Mortlach is in your wheelhouse. I expected a bit more impact. Not necessarily stronger, or more intense, but just a bit ‘more’. Somehow…

89/100

Mortlach 25yo, 1993-2018, Refill Sherry cask 4466, 56.1%, Adelphi