Mortlach Rare Old

This is a beautifully packaged box and bottle. Diageo are throwing money are Mortlach as a distillery and brand and aesthetically it is money well spent.

However, I don't think it is very rare or very old. The fact it is an NAS makes the “old” part of the name seem like pure marketing BS. Also, it doesn't seem very rare as you can pick it up from almost all retailers and to my knowledge it is not a limited run.

As you can tell beside the fact it is extremely well packaged (which I like) I do find the marketing schizzle of “super premium” “rare” and “old” just a bit too much.

So, now for the important part...the whisky.

This is bottled at 43.4% ABV and is a vibrant honeyed gold colour. The nose is soft, sweet dark fruits, honey, vanilla, dry sherry and a whiff of dry spices. It smells sweet and it very pleasant. It makes you think that this will be very drinkable.

Palate – The nose was correct about the softness. It is silky and soft in the mouth but moves through the sweetness to a peppery and spicy bite. Still fruity but turning woody as the sweetness fades.

Finish is medium long and the sweetness goes leaving spices, pepper, oak and a slightly drying oak. Oddly it is mouth watering which contradicts the oak and pepper bite but shows the sweetness doesn’t entirely disappear.

Do not add water. Really, just don't. It ruins the nose which is the highlight of this single malt. It reduces the sweetness and accentuates the oak and pepper.

Oddly I liked this less the more I drank. First impressions were good but the pleasure of simplicity gave way to less enjoyable characteristics dominating. I like interesting drinks and this is interesting but it just misses the mark of being top draw.

Worth trying, don't get me wrong, I do like it but i feel let down. It looks AMAZING so my expectations from that and the lovely nose were then brought back to earth my the palate which was good but the finish let it down.

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