Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Mortlach.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 43.4%.
Age: 20 years. Bottled in 2023.
Cask type: Undisclosed but presumed to be a vatting of bourbon and sherry casks.
Price: Gift, retails around $200 USD locally.
Natural Color. Chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 5 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, no significant change at the heel.
Nose: rich red fruits up front (strawberries and apples), green grass, fresh bread, toffee, caramel, linseed oil, a bit of green melon, blackberry compote, hints of fresh-cut flowers.
Palate: medium body ~ Assam tea, more strawberries and grass, oak spice, red fruit jam, goes way more floral with gardenia, chamomile, honeysuckle, and cut stems poking through.
Finish: medium-short ~ more tea and toffee, more oak tannins on the tail end, black pepper.
Conclusion: This follows a similar profile to Mortlach’s 16yr release but is considerably richer; the additional age contributes a nice bouquet of fruity and floral notes, balanced by black tea-like tannins. The low ABV holds it back a tad (mostly in the less-developed finish), but I notice it less than with younger releases from Mortlach—maybe they don’t have to water their spirit down quite so much to get to 43.4% after two decades of maturation. Folks looking for the distillery’s famed meatiness here might be disappointed: this is firmly in the ‘floral’ Mortlach camp, especially after some air time both in the bottle and sitting in the glass. I was gifted this bottle by some generous friends for a special occasion—admittedly it’s not a whisky I’d go for typically, at the price Diageo is currently asking for it (and twice the price of the 16yr), but it was still really good, and a treat to explore and share.
Final Score: 84.
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.
Malt Runners 