Mortlach Tasting - 23rd August - 7pm

[Ganga]

I forgot to mention that I have one of those Glenlivet bottles of water for adding to the whiskies.

[Ryguy]

Mortlach 15yo ( 40%, Official Bottling )

Glass: SMWS Glass

Nose: Somewhat floral, and minty?

Palate: Light and tasty, sweet sherry and honey, and more floral notes (heather possibly).

Finish: A very nice finish, especially for 40%. A dry smokiness along with a bit of leather.

Many thanks to Nick (C57) for this sample!!

[Deactivated Member]

As we have various time differences, I'll say "G'day all".

I sit here with just one Mortlach, a small sample bottle which I was given recently by a whisky fan who lives just down the road.

Exact details are:
Mortlach "Single Malt Connoisseurs Club München"
Distilled 1989, bottled 2001, Cask# 259 (sherry), 54.6%



However, in order to give a little more to this tasting, I will dig out my tasting notes for a couple of other Mortlachs and add to the fun with those.
MT

[Ganga]

G&M 13, cask 5972, with water

N: hint of dk chocolate, grain stalks, spritz of lemons
P: dk chocolate, malted barley, lemons
F: moderate with smoked barley

[Ganga]

Good to "see" you Malty! Just past noon here.

[Ryguy]

Good Afternoon/Evening Malt Teaser!! Any notes you have are welcome!! I look foward to seeing them.

[mikeymad]

Cheers MT - sounds like an interesting malt...

Cheers,

[Willie JJ]

Evening all.

Was out with the girls and just got back.

[Ganga]

G&M 13, cask 5972, large brandy

N: lemon bars, dk chocolate chips, smack in the face from the 58.9
P: ripe barley on the stalk, dk chocolate
F: long with the green grain stalks

[Deactivated Member]

In retrospect, I can offer the tasting notes for a rather good Mortlach from Douglas Laing which I sampled at the munich whisky fair in 2007:

Mortlach, OMC, distilled March 1984

Nose: My notes say this was a difficult one to identify. Maybe it was a little late in the day after quite a few samples

Palate: Some spice, orange and other faint citrus notes. However, the big surprise here was its similarity to a Caol Ila. I often say that CI reminds me of the peat-smoking chimneys of the Yorkshire Dales. Well, this was just like that.

Overall Impression: Deceptively good!

[mikeymad]

Hey Willle - looking forward to your Mort notes....

Cheers,

[Willie JJ]

Just need to get bottles and samples organised and I'll be right with you.

[Ganga]

That sounds very interesting MT.

[Ganga]

Willie! Good to have you here.

[Ryguy]

Willie!!! Good to see you!

[Ganga]

G&M 13, cask 5972, large brandy with water

N: fresh squeezed lemons, wood shavings (where'd this come from), very light chocolate notes
P: lemons, barley and straw, hint of a more creamy chocolate
F: moderately short, lots of thrashed straw.

[Willie JJ]

Almost there. just pouring a Flora & Fauna 16yo.

[Ganga]

F&F anyone?

Gee, what timing that is.

[Ryguy]

Some of you were reading my mind. Just finished my note on this one!!

Mortlach 16yo (43%, Flora & Fauna )

Glass: SMWS Glass Nose: Grasy, light mix of dried fruits and some raisins.

Palate: Sweet, with some wood (oak), burnt sugars, and a hint of spice.

Finish: Medium to long, more sherry and fruits (orangey), with more oak coming through.

Many thanks to Willie for this sample!! A very nice example of Mortlach here for me!

[Ryguy]

Cheers Nick! Good to see you!

[Ganga]

Hello Nick. Glad you're here to join in the fun.

[Ganga]

F&F 16, Ardbeg Noser

N: cinnamon and spices, slight woodiness, raisins
P: raisins, some caramel and cooked sugars, orange peels
F: moderately long, lingering remenants of the palate

One must thank one's benefactor. Cheers, Willie.

[mikeymad]

F&F 16, Ardbeg Noser

One must thank one's benefactor. Cheers, Willie.

The source of all our F&F.... Cheers

[Ryguy]

F&F 16, Ardbeg Noser

One must thank one's benefactor. Cheers, Willie.

The source of all our F&F.... Cheers

Yes indeed Willie, thanks again!

[Deactivated Member]

Oh dear, I thought I had a couple more notes, but I haven't.

So, here goes with the:

Mortlach "Single Malt Connoisseurs Club München"
Distilled 1989, bottled 2001, Cask# 259 (sherry), 54.6%


Glass: My beloved Spiegelau

Colour: Wonderfully rich gold, just like a sherry cask should be, without being over-poweringly dark.

Nose: Marzipan, nuts and raisins. All bound together in a bunch of fresh herbs with just a faint dash of mint. This has a wonderfully fresh aroma, hence my 'herbs' comment as I have never experienced this before with a Mortlach.
The more I nose it, the more the herbs fade and give way to the marzipan and nuts.
There's still a little sting in this one, even after 6 or 7 nosings. Mainly due to the high alcohol level.
I will nose again with water later.

My mouth is now watering as I long to taste this one!

Palate: Different, very different, but I think good. I'll come back on that one.
What do I mean?
Firstly, it's creamy, very creamy. It initially hits the palate with a burst of tingle, which fades quite quickly, then returns with a vengeance.
At the same time, the initial flavour is one of nuts and raisins with a little marzipan. This also fades quite quickly, but almost immediately returns with double strength (of flavour).

The finish is long, very long. But the flavours change as the seconds pass. The nuts and marzipan suddenly give way to a burst of those fresh herbs where violet is pushed to the fore, just for a second or two.
The whole thing then just fades slowly into a very long and pleasant experience.

Overall Impression: I want more!

[Ryguy]

Moving right along now....

Mortlach 12yo 1991 ( 46%, Murray McDavid, Bourbon/Syrah Enhanced in Syrah Guigal Cotes Rotie cask, /1800 bottles, in tube )

Glass: SMWS Glass

Nose: Maple syrup, citrus fruits.

Palate: Yumm!! Really sweet and syrupy, some dry notes as I experienced in the past samples. Dried fruits, predominantly oranges.

Finish: Long and fantastic, more oranges and sweet dried fruits.

Thanks to Mikeymad and Ganga for this sample!!!

[Ganga]

F&F 16, large brandy

N: raisins mixed with caramel, light woodiness, mixed dried spices
P: chocolate covered raisin, carmelized sugars, tangerines
F: moderately long with mixed dried and fresh fruits

[mikeymad]

Overall Impression: I want more!

Wow MT - sounds good... too bad it was from 2001... would be really hard o find anymore of that...

[Ganga]

Overall Impression: I want more!

Probably the best rating a whisky can have.

[Ryguy]

Mortlach 13yo ( 58.9%, Gordon and MacPhail, Cask #5972, Refill Sherry Hoggie, 1993/2006 )

Glass: SMWS Glass

Nose: Very powerful nose, lemony and grassy, also something rich and sweet.

Palate: Rich and sweet, this one really needs water for me, so I added a cap. It makes all the difference here. Some toffee/dark chocolate that I'm noticing.

Finish: Long and tasty, very nice!

[Ganga]

Pick one and go.

Or the Mikey method, randomly grab something.

[Spirit of Islay]

Age before Beauty Nick....

[Willie JJ]

The bloody tasting note code doesn't seem to be working again and I can't be bothered trying to fix it. Here's the first then:

Mortlach Flora & Fauna

Nose: Tangerine marmalade. Cream, bitter chocolate and candlewax. Old rubber coated electric cables. Cold tea.
Palate: Burnt oranges, peppery wood, tobacco
Finish: medium length, drying wood.

The dram seems woodier tonight than it normally does. Maybe something to do with the sampling I did earlier.

[mikeymad]

Or the Mikey method, randomly grab something.

It works well... (sometimes)

[Deactivated Member]

Now the same one with water:

Mortlach "Single Malt Connoisseurs Club München"
Distilled 1989, bottled 2001, Cask# 259 (sherry), 54.6%


4 Drops of water in about 2cl:

Nose: A little smoke has suddenly appeared! This is totally different again. It is no longer burning the nose and along with the smoke is a definite hint of wood. The herbs have gone and the nuts are much less prominent.

Palate: Still deliciously creamy but now with a little smoke, but no herbs.
The quick fade and powerful return have also gone, it is now a much more civilised dram which just gently fades, but it does take a long time. This is mainly nuts, raisins and marzipan now, not a bad thing, but not as changeable or surprising as without water.

I just added another couple of drops of water in what is left and the nose has completely gone.
The palate also changed again, offering almost nothing on the initial taste, but then growing with time.
I guess this must now be around 40% which is just too weak for this dram.

Overall Impression revisited:A very good whisky. Totally astonishing without water. The variety of flavours were unbelievable. But I think it was better overall with just a little water.
The second addition of water was too much and spoiled it.

I have no idea what this costs, but I would like to know as I would certainly want a bottle if it isn't too expensive.
I like this!!!