Named in honor of the family that owned Mortlach for many years, this was matured in sherry wood, like its 16 year old sibling. Milk chocolate, nuts, and coffee on the nose, with developing meaty aromas. Soft and slightly waxy on the palate, with almonds, apricots, and allspice. Milk chocolate and spicy orange in the finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

The youngest of the 2018 Mortlach trio, this is named after the distillery’s famous small spirit still. Maturation has taken place in sherry and bourbon casks. Baked apricots and ginger on the nose, with black pepper, lots of milk chocolate, and an herbal note. The palate is mildly savory, with more milk chocolate, vanilla, orchard fruits, and cinnamon. Lingering chocolate ginger in the finish.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

Immediately identifiable as Mortlach, with a pleasant, feral mélange of meat mingled with milk chocolate and gorse. There is elegant sweetness here, but expressed as a mix of the bittersweet caramelized juices stuck to the bottom of a roasting pan, with honey. The palate, unsurprisingly, is big, and medium dry, but here as well there’s some sweetness in the form of black fruits. Mortlach, but in a slightly subtler guise than usual. £60

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2011)

Toffee and nougat, with a lacing of cotton candy. It then turns richly nutty-almost chewy-with notes of dried apricot, sultana, and a touch of red currant. Firm, dry, oak resin finish. A well-structured whisky, indicative of the Mortlach pedigree.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Summer 2006)

This whisky shows the true potential of Mortlach -- and at a youthful age, too! Quite fragrant and very complex on the nose and palate. Chewy toffee with almonds, vanilla fudge, ripe barley, and nougat, with underlying pit fruits, dried spice, and a hint of leather on the finish. Very fulfilling.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2008)

This is Mortlach in musing mode. An aroma that initially brings to mind a woolen mill, then opens into sweet spice, light syrup, with the sense of the distillery’s weight always present. A rippling kind of muscularity with some rapeseed oil. With water the palate starts lighter and more fruity than you’d expect, then comes rooty weight with, yes, a distinctly gingery slant. Water shows more beeswax/honeycomb. Substantial and spicy. £85

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Fall 2015)

Straw gold color. Very mature aromas of oak and citrus, with a hint of smoke, dry vanilla, floral and spice notes. Flavors are very mature and fairly dry throughout, mirroring the aroma’s dominant oaky vanilla notes, with citrus, and subtle smoke. Long, lingering finish.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2001)

The richest of the quartet. Super-dense with a note of burnished brass, then light leather and cashew alongside sandalwood. The waxiness and tropical fruit typical of old whiskies is in the background before it moves into lanolin. The palate starts sweetly, with added liqueur cherries, earth, and smoke but for me, after the complex nose it fails to deliver, especially since it is so scarily priced. £600/500 ml

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2014)

Richly layered. A veritable fruit basket, in addition to nutty toffee, caramel, cocoa powder, and toasted coconut notes, all balanced nicely by oak on the finish. Nice maturity for a relatively young whisky. (Bottled for Maxwell Street Trading Co.)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Fall 2008)

Matured in a bourbon cask. Thick and creamy, with mouth-coating vanilla, ripe barley, toasted marshmallow, vanilla wafer, key lime pie, golden delicious apple, lemongrass, and hay. The vanilla sweetness lingers to the finish, mixing with dried herbs and hay. I was expecting more from a carefully chosen Mortlach, given its pedigree, but this is still nice. (240 bottles) £250

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2010)

Certainly not the best Mortlach I’ve tasted, but it’s a solid effort and at a good price for a 21 year old. Nicely balanced — Lorne Mackillop’s hallmark — and somewhat reserved, too (for a Mortlach), with intriguing lime, kiwi, caramel, floral notes (on the nose), nutty toffee (especially on the palate), soaked barley, and charcoal, with a rather syrupy, mouth-clinging texture toward the finish. Worth a look.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

Another catch-up from G&M, this time from the ‘Beast of Dufftown.’ Immediate substance and solidity, which is what you want from Mortlach, but there’s also thick-cut marmalade and cumin. Only with water, however, does the classic meatiness emerge—like a lamb tangine with apricot. A cleaner, slightly lighter side to the Flora & Fauna 16 year old, but with heft and a burnt licorice sweetness. A great introduction to a classic distillery.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2012)

Very pale straw. The color indicates that there’s been no real cask activity. A little closed on the nose to start; clean, quite green and leafy (young ferns). The flavor however, makes up for this, with good mid-palate sweetness and some dark fruits beginning to assemble themselves in the middle. Of interest to completists. £45

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2015)

There’s a Roman dish involving lamb cooked in milk, and this is it in alcohol form. A slightly peculiar lactic note rises and falls above the rich meatiness of the spirit. There’s a hit of pencil shavings, but with water it becomes cheesy. So much more straightforward on the tongue with good vinous weight, like an old Vin Jaune. It finishes with earthy tones. It’s just…odd. £125

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Winter 2013)