Mortlach 17 Year Old 1988 Signatory Vintage

Today, the Speysider Mortlach, is still an important malt in the Johnnie Walker blends. John Walker & Sons were owners of the distillery for a long time. It is not easy to track down Mortlach as a single malt in official livery, hence you will need to check with the Indies. This 17 Year Old was bottled by Signatory in their Cask Strength Collection.

The nose is sweet and floral. A fruity sweetness from dried figs, plums, candied orange peel and raisins. Floral as in heather and dandelions. There is something rubbery in the background, just shy of disturbing. That evaporates when you add some water. The fruit is emphasized then.

The attack is fiery, but burns a bit too much to really taste this dram. The oranges clearly shine through, but not much else. With water then. Much better. Gets a toffee creaminess. The dried fruit returns in the shape of oranges, but also peach. Some cinnamon and nutmeg. Even a touch of cloves. Not bad.

The finish becomes very drying and mildly bitter. A lot of oak on the deathbed.

Beautiful, fruity Mortlach, that can use water. Fiery swimmer. The finish was a low point. Thanks, Jan VC, for the sample.

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