April 10, 2015

Tasting beef broth. I mean, Mortlach.

As usual, 1. a worthy aperitif and 2. a few stronger beasts.

Mortlach (40%, OB, 75cl, +/-1985)

This old NAS Mortlach could have been bottled a little earlier than 1985, not too sure. Anyway, the market was low at the time, so there may be some old Mortlach inside. Colour: white wine. Nose: very interesting! Starts with whiffs of bicycle inner tube, which isn’t quite rubber mind you, certainly some ‘mineral’ sulphur (not eggy notes at all), then we find the trademark meaty things (rather cured ham), and lastly, some fresh butter with linseed oil, plums and fresh mint. Never found so many plums in Mortlach. What’s great is that no sherry’s there to kind of mask the spirit. Mouth: it’s amazing how meaty this is. Beef and chicken bouillons, miso soup – you might call this umami – then Chinese dumplings, chives, parsley, salt, Maggi, lovage, more ham… This is no whisky, it’s a sandwich! Sure the low strength feels a bit but the spirit’s really fat. I mean, its style is fat. Finish: kind of long, very bouillony. Ha! Comments: very hard to score, we’re extremely far from any contemporary malt whiskies. There’s not one ounce of sweetness in the palate, only the finish had half a raisin. SGP:262 - 85 points.

Mortlach 19 yo 1995/2014 (46%, The Warehouse Collection, ex-bourbon finish octave, cask #W8/1208, 72 bottles)

Not to sure about what an ‘ex-bourbon finish octave’ exactly is, but as G.W. used to say, who cares? Colour: pale gold. Nose: there are whiffs of bourbony vanilla at first nosing indeed, and those come with a little coconut and warm sawdust, as usual. After that, I do find floral touches (dandelions), then maybe violets (not sweets), and then just a little yoghurt. Or rather that yoghurt sauce that our Turkish friends make. I wouldn’t say you find much Mortlachness in this, but it is a pleasant nose. Mouth: sure the oak is singing loud, but I think this works well… for a while. Because there’s a green tannicity as well… well we remain below the limits. So, fine. Other than that, a green kind of liquorice and plenty of green tea. Green’s the keyword here. Liquorice wood. Finish: long and tannic. Comments: fine but that’s the problem with these octaves. I’m glad I could try other new whiskies by The Warehouse Collection that have been much more to my liking. More about them soon on WF! SGP:371 - 74 points.

Mortlach 15 yo 1999/2014 (56.6%, Wilson & Morgan, Barrel Selection, sherry butt, cask #2)

W&M like oloroso, this should be oloroso. We like oloroso too. Colour: pale amber. Nose: chocolate and oak, I’d say. Does cocoa wood smell like this? Like these notes of dried mushrooms as well, but the whole remains a tad closed. So… With water: yess. Maggi and oxtail soup, plus drops of soy sauce. What one would expect from a Mortlach + dry oloroso combination. Mouth (neat): big fat chocolate and walnut eau-de-vie (should that exist). Distilled Marsala, or dry Madeira, or Manzanilla, or something like that. Very heavy, and yet kind of approachable, should you enjoy high extractions and, well, walnuts. A little mad, perhaps. With water: swims like a champ. Sure the oak got a tad too loud for my taste (walnut stain) but these notes of coffee, miso soup, soy sauce and Chinese plum sauce (the one they serve with Peking duck, always forget the name) are spectacular. What a concoction! Finish: very long. I know salted coffee’s not supposed to work too well, but there, salted coffee and I like that. Comments: extreme and spectacular. Some sides were a little unlikely, but I loved its… say assertiveness? SGP:462 - 87 points.

Mortlach 25 yo 1988/2014 (56.8%, Cadenhead, Sherry Cask, 576 bottles)

I just loved the latest 1994/2015 ‘small batch’ (WF 91) but that one was almost totally spirit-driven. Might not be the case here. Colour: gold. Nose: these bicycle inner tubes that were in the old official NAS. I mean, it’s more a dragster than a bicycle. A box of rubber bands, then a box of cigars, then a box of prunes. A lot of boxes, I know. Not 100% convinced so far. With water: not a few inner tubes, a whole factory! Mouth (neat): yah. A strange beast, with some bitter oranges, Worcester sauce, reduced caramel and green peppercorns. This is extremely extreme, not for the fainthearted and maybe not for overly sophisticated palates. Good news, we’re not one of them. With water: really, it’s rather Pirelli 25 yo. Finish: long and probably a little tyre-ing (yeah, well done S., like, how much do we owe you?) Comments: I think you really need to be into these sorts of heavily rubbery drams. But if you do, this is paradise on earth. SGP:373 - 76 points.

Not an easy session, not an easy one. Last try, and this should be quite heavy too… Wish me luck!...

Mortlach 27 yo 1987/2015 (56.8%, Adelphi, refill sherry, cask #3104, 271 bottles)

Utterly loved some sister casks, some others a little less so. High expectations anyway… Colour: amber. Nose: the oak first imparts some heavy bourbony notes, ala Pappy and stuff. Really. We’re meaning pencil shavings and all that, gunflints and vanilla pods… And very little sherryness. How very un-Jerez! Not even the hints of cured ham (that would be bellota, obviously) make it Andalucian, but on the other hand, there are very lovely whiffs of pot-pourri, Cuban cigars and vin jaune. Right, manzanilla. BTW I will fly to Jerez in three weeks, I can’t wait. With water: there, chicken bouillon and all that, plus a touch of mint sauce. Something English, perhaps. Mouth (neat): very high impact sherry and oak, with a very thick mouth feel and plenty of Wurst/sausages. Never had such as sausage-y whisky. Add cloves, add cumin, and add juniper berries. Yeah, and even sauerkraut (choucroute or sürkrüt in Alsatian). With water: works. I had feared the oak would have become too loud, but it’s the opposite that happens. Cool! Finish: long herbal, spicy, and bouillony. Marmalade in the aftertaste, that was welcome. Comments: spicy sausage-y malt whisky, how gastronomic is that? Fun and funny – while probably quite unorthodox. SGP:372 - 88 points.

Well, Mortlach sure isn’t for vegetarians!

(and thanks a lot, Tomislav)