Mortlach 2013 9 Year Old Friday Night Simply Whisky

I've been hoovering up Mortlachs left, right and centre recently, so when I saw this had spent it's nine years in an ex sherry butt (amount of fills unknown!), I bit. Quite interested to see how it holds up at a younger age too. And, completely unrelated, I think I may have just discovered another hedgehog (one scared the bejesus out of me a few years back!) ferreting close by, trying to find a warm spot in the basement to shelter for the winter. Awww!

Bottle's been open a couple of months with 3/4's remaining. Review is with a dew drops of water and sat for 15 mins.

Nose - quite a rich nose with just the merest hint of youth. Dates, boozy banana pudding, a wisp of menthol, spices of clove and a hint of ginger, and pork fat.

Taste - full arrival of cloves and a hint of cardamom, pickled ginger, fruit cake. Savoury notes like pork crackling and beef crisps come out as it develops.

Finish - short to med. Slight dry sherry 'residue', pleasantly drying tannins and more clove (a note I seem to get in every Mortlach!).

A very pleasant drop, it must be said, but my feeling is that this is one that will likely work better as a slightly older malt. The distillery character comes through fine but it lacks some of the fullness and is a bit 'fresher' than others I've had. Still, easy to get on with and, as I like the style, it's rewarding enough. At £70 though, paying a few quid more for the G&M 15 is a much better bet.

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