Review by: The Muskox

Here’s yet another of last year’s Diageo Special Releases. This one’s matured in virgin oak casks – I thought that this year’s Oban release was also virgin-oak-matured, as was reported by numerous whisky news outlets, but it seems like the initial press release’s report of “freshly-charred casks” should actually be interpreted as recharred casks.

Anyways. This one definitely has fresh oak going on. Let’s try it.

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Distillery: Mortlach.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 55.9%. Cask strength.

Age: 13 years. Bottled in 2021.

Cask type: A combination of virgin American oak and ex-bourbon casks.

Price: $225 CAD.

Color: Light gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Creamy and fragrant. White cake with buttercream icing, homemade marshmallow, and Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Sweet concentrated fruit notes of lemon custard and orange oil. There’s definitely some spicy virgin oak coming through. Toasted walnuts.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Sweet throughout, starting with candied citrus and rich malt, then sweet spicy oak on the development. Chocolate milkshake, honeycomb, spun sugar, and toffee. Rum-ish tropical spice in the middle. Toasted sesame seeds. Poached pears. White chocolate. Earl Gray with milk. Subtle coconut.

Finish: Creamy and rich, sweet at first but getting oakier. A blanket of creaminess: Vernors float, nougat, vanilla, white chocolate, and toasted brioche. Slightly earthy and even a bit sappy. Pear… blueberry?

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Ice cream breakfast milkshake float extravaganza”

Conclusion: Not too complex, but delicious and easy to drink. There aren’t many distillates in Scotland that are rich enough to work with virgin oak casks in my opinion, but it seems that Mortlach might be one of them – the casks give this whisky such a fantastic vanilla richness that builds layer on layer of heavy sweet goodness. While this does come across as a dessert dram, the oak also keeps that sweetness in check somewhat. This is a winner for me.

Final Score: 85.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.