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93 points

Mortlach 26 year old (Diageo Special Releases 2019), 53.3%

Aged in newly toasted first-fill Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry-seasoned casks, this veteran ‘beast of Dufftown’ makes a big impression. Sweet, with smoky sherry, fragrant pipe tobacco, old leather, walnuts, vanilla, and ripe cherries. The oily palate yields more leather, blackcurrant cough drops, nutmeg, cloves, Jaffa oranges, and black tea. Raisins, licorice, and oak tannins, before sweeter chocolate in the very long finish (3,883 bottles; 276 for the U.S.)

Reviewed by: (Winter 2019)

93 points

Mortlach 18 year old, 43.4%

Deep amber in color with the green glints of first-fill sherry, this has bosky notes and meat—mutton and venison—plus graphite, bitter chocolate, and wet rock before layers of dried stone fruits and date. This is the most savory and Bovril-like of the new range. The palate is feral and earthy; think mushroom with game pie, and rowan berries. Deep, but with more dimensions than the previous 16 year old which, in comparison, seems like a blunt instrument. £180/500 ml

Reviewed by: (Summer 2014)

93 points

Mackillop’s Choice (distilled at Mortlach) 1991, 56.6%

Full gold. Weighty, but not oppressed by wood. Full, rich rancio aroma, which brings to mind an ancient cognac. It is rich and powerful, but has great finesse and perfect balance: cooked fruit, some spice, a lot of waxiness, licorice…and then the distillery’s signature meatiness. The palate starts sweetly with ripe old autumn fruits, and soft tannins. This has everything you want from a mature whisky, and from Mortlach, with added elegance. Highly recommended. £198

Reviewed by: (Summer 2015)

93 points

Gordon & MacPhail (distilled at Mortlach), 11 year old,k 1993 vintage, 60.7%

Full-flavored, confident, and very dynamic. Bright fruit, teasing toffee, complex spices, cereal grain, and underlying light leather notes are all tightly integrated. Think an 11 year old whisky can’t be mature or complex? Think again! A Speyside powerhouse! (Available in the Chicago area.)

Reviewed by: (Summer 2006)

92 points

Gordon & MacPhail (distilled at Mortlach), 36 year old, 1970 vintage, 43%

Deep amber, mahogany color. Very mature and well-balanced. Notes of maple syrup on pancakes, roasted chestnuts, dates, pot still rum, burnished leather, maduro tobacco, and subtle Moroccan spice. Soft, stately finish. Older whiskies often show an exotic side to their personalities as they mellow out with age, especially if the wood influence doesn’t dominate. This is a very nice example of the genre.

Reviewed by: (Fall 2007)

91 points

Mortlach 16 year old, 43%

With worm tubs and a fiendishly complex partial-triple distillation, Mortlach has adhered to an old style of making whisky — and older, richer, darker flavors. Big and bold, it is at its best in ex-sherry casks. The nose is meaty (think gravy/beef stock) with fig, raisin, and molasses. In the mouth it’s concentrated, with good grip and a savory sweetness. A cult malt. £41 (Not available in the U.S.)

Reviewed by: (Fall 2011)

91 points

Mortlach 15 year old Six Kingdoms, 46%

The ninth and final release in Diageo’s Game of Thrones series was aged in first-fill sherry-seasoned casks and finished in bourbon barrels. Vanilla and toffee, plus spicy oak on the nose, while the full sherried palate yields dry fruit, spicy citrus notes, almonds, more vanilla, and caramel. The leisurely finish presents wood spices and Jaffa oranges.

Reviewed by: (Spring 2020)

91 points

Douglas Laing Extra Old Particular (distilled at Mortlach) 22 year old, 57.1%

Deep amber. Generous sweet sherried nose; very ripe, with dried orchard fruits, chestnut puree, and indeed chestnut honey, then a little touch of meat and a pungency akin to Guyanan pot still rum. Sumptuous. As it opens there’s a fluxing mix of sticky toffee, game, pomegranate, and dried red fruits. The palate is deeply savory, with floor polish and cooked plums, finishing with fragrant pepper. The cask has a huge say in things, but the spirit copes. Excellent. £191

Reviewed by: (Summer 2015)

91 points

Mortlach 16 year old Distiller’s Dram, 43.4%

One of three Mortlachs introduced in 2018, this has much to live up to, as the classic Flora & Fauna Mortlach was also 16 years old. The whisky has been aged entirely in sherry casks. The nose offers malt, gingersnaps, baked apple, and a delicate savory note. Quite full-bodied, with toffee apples, gammon, and old leather on the palate. Cocoa powder and tinned peaches in the finish. Editors’ Choice

Reviewed by: (Winter 2018)

91 points

Prima & Ultima Mortlach 25 year old 1995, 52.4%

This PX-oloroso seasoned European oak butt was marked out as a lone wolf cask for its complexity and richness. The shifting sands of the spice aromas invoke wonderful fragrant flavors rather than overt spiciness, and there’s still some meaty muscle behind the orchard fruit, baked peach, dried papaya, and cranberry. The palate shows baked cookies, apple pie, plum, red currant tartness, malt, carob beans, and drying wood; Mortlach in its prime. (454 bottles)

Reviewed by: (Winter 2021)

91 points

Mortlach Prima & Ultima 25 year old 1994 (Cask No. 2652), 55.1%

Oily on the nose, with spent matches, resin, and grilled meat, then vanilla, citrus fruit, old leather, and a developing floral note. Initially very fruity on the muscular palate, with cracked pepper, stewed root vegetables, and dark chocolate appearing in time. Peppery oak, ginger, and soy sauce in the finish. Price is for entire Prima & Ultima Collection, of which this whisky is a part. (389 bottles) £20,000

Reviewed by: (Fall 2020)

91 points

Mortlach 21 year old (Diageo Special Releases 2020), 56.9%

Mortlach 21 year old (Diageo Special Releases 2020) bottle. Aged in a mix of Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry-seasoned casks, this has a peppery, slightly savory nose, offering boiled sweets and dried fruits. The palate is voluptuous, with sherry, dates, caramel, dark spices, and oak tannins. Licorice and a suggestion of chile in the ultimately drying, lengthy, slightly meaty finish. (7,692 bottles)

Reviewed by: (Winter 2020)

90 points

Mortlach Rare Old, 43.4%

The introductory expression of the range shows a further example of the widening of the Mortlach style. Stewed and dried fruits mingle with light earth notes, wet Labrador, supple shoe leather, and varnish. A drop of water is all that’s needed to add a savory element and even some funky fruitiness reminiscent of cooking agave. The palate is big and chocolaty with some meat underneath. Hefty but elegant. The distillery character is not only intact, but enhanced. £55/500 ml

Reviewed by: (Summer 2014)

90 points

Mortlach Special Strength, 49%

This is Rare Old at higher strength for folks who haunt Travel Retail outlets. The upping of strength also changes the dynamic, making things sweeter with mushed berries and Seville orange, but also deeper, with more overt meatiness, stewed tea, and the same varnished note. Dense, thick, stewed orchard fruits are on the palate alongside some acetone and, with water, burning rosemary and dry licorice. Similar, but with more heft. £75/500 ml

Reviewed by: (Summer 2014)

90 points

Adelphi (distilled at Mortlach) 26 year old, 58.6%

Amber. Very meaty, with a touch of cordite, then dark fruits, wet earth, and autumn woods, cut with spicy licorice and Darjeeling tea. Water brings down this exuberance, adding iris and whole grain bread. The palate has typical, full-on Mortlach brawny muscle, with chestnut honey-glazed venison. Water bringing out sweetness, but without ever losing that glowering core. Lovers of the old 16 year old apply here.

Reviewed by: (Winter 2014)

90 points

Adelphi (distilled at Mortlach) 25 year old, 59.4%

Rich amber in hue, sweet, and mellow with initial amontillado sherry notes that give way to Mortlach meatiness; here a lamb tagine with prune, apricot, and gravy juices. This elegance gives way to a fascinating palate mix of the sweet and the savory with citrus, sultana, and a rowanberry jab on the end mingling with just a bit of smoke. Everything mellowed by time and oak. Very good indeed. £99

Reviewed by: (Winter 2013)

90 points

Mortlach 13 year old (Diageo Special Releases 2021), 55.9%

This would make a phenomenal outdoor dram, as it’s bristling with spices, woodshed lumber, chorizo, pink peppercorn, and red chile. The palate opens with flavors of vanilla, barley, sweet citrus, and lime, though these are quickly cast aside by a wave of peppery spices, which ebbs away to leave meatier notes, aromatic spices, and dry oak. The zigzag flavor journey adds to the excitement of this distinctive dram.

Reviewed by: (Winter 2021)

90 points

Mortlach Midnight Malt 30 year old, 49.1%

This is a dark, brooding glass of whisky with aromas of rum-drizzled pecans, oiled wood, leather boots, peppered rib-eye steaks, old library books, and fine spices. A complex palate of baked apple, golden syrup, leather, chocolate brownie, dried fig, roast beef, pepper, dark toffee, praline, and Brazil nut, with a long finish of mouth-coating dark ripe fruit, oak, and savory spices. A late night pleasure for rare occasions. (Annual release of 350 bottles)

Reviewed by: (Fall 2022)