Review #89 - Mortlach 12 Year
'Meaty' Whisky Mini-Series: Part 2 of 3
Our second 'meaty' whisky is Mortlach 12, out of the Speyside region - Dufftown, specifically. Mortlach, owned by Diageo, is renowned for the character of its spirit - just the sort of thing we're looking for, with those savory notes that arrive before the spirit even enters the barrel.
Mortlach uses a more unusual distillation process, yielding a spirit that is 2.81 times distilled, as opposed to the usual 2 times used in pot distillation in Scotch whisky. Part of this process involves the famous 'Wee Witchie,' the smallest, yet most important, pot still (a spirit still, as opposed to a wash still) in the distillery - the 12 year expression has taken the nickname in honor of this still. Of course, as is expected for this series, some condensation of the spirit vapors is done via a worm tub, and there is some sherry cask aging involved, so we're looking for a slightly dirtier, fruitier dram.
Mortlach 12 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 59 (2022)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 59 (2023)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 43.4% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 8 months; bottles at 100%, 80%, 60% (blind tasting), and 50% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A bit unusual, it's slightly metallic and savory, with some serious spirit influence, almost to the point of being slightly chemical. Sometimes we found a vegetal note as well, almost bordering on root vegetables, but also damp and rotting wood, mossy stones, and old polished furniture wood. In terms of fruit: dry prune, raisin, and fig, but also a hint of oily citrus and bright exotic fruits. The bourbon casks are adding brown sugar, wood sugar, some dry vanilla, and cinnamon... even ginger and coconut, as well. We end with some darker notes of cola and chocolate-covered acai berry.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin, and it comes with more of those weird, interesting flavors: funky, savory, sulfury dried meats, or even an old, re-heated meat flavor. It's still pretty spirity, too, but that soon gives way to rich fig and smoked orange rind, prune and cola, chocolate and tobacco smoke. There are some earthy and nature-like notes here: dirt and tone, maybe a bit of a farmyard hay, a hint of grain, and some effervescent herbal spice, almost eucalyptus. After a tickle of licorice and pepper, along with some lemon juice, we end with spiced oak and a hint of polished leather.
Finish: It's a medium length finish which is full of orange and baking spice: orange candies, cinnamon, dry vanilla, brown sugar, and barley sugar. Those worm tubs are showing some character here, too: lingering oil and a mild sulfur, some old damp wood tones, a hint of bitterness as well. With a bit more air time, more spirit notes trickle into the finish, along with a bit of bell pepper; we end with hints of cola, or even root beer.
Final Note: Interesting, if a bit neutered. There's some nice character to this spirit, the worm tubs and sherry aging really do shine, although the ABV is low, and the likely use of chill filtration keeps everything a bit more reserved... we think this could really shine with better presentation. Value on this 12 year bottle is decent for the interesting taste you get, but we're wary that anything with a higher age statement (or any of the annual special releases from Diageo) might see that value erode quite quickly.
Our Average Rating: 7.1 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.32
