Mortlach 76.82

I've been working my way through my Society sample bottles that I received when I joined The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

I'd started with the Campbeltown, then the Islay.

That left me with two Speysides. A fifteen year old and a twenty-one year old.

The Speyside I decided to crack open was the fifteen year old.

I pulled up the Society's handy dandy guide to figure out which distillery had produced it and discovered that it was Mortlach, which was pretty cool considering that I've NEVER had a whisky from this distillery.

As many of my friends know I'm ALWAYS interested in trying whiskies and distilleries that I've never had before.

The name of this specific bottling is Gunpowder Green and lava rock.

The label states that it has a rich and complex nose involving many different elements, but the ones that caught my eye were chicken in cream and tarragon and balsamic onions.

When I first read that I have to be honest that my first thought was "What are they smoking over there!?"

I pour this lovely pale gold nectar of the gods into my glencairn and decide to start nosing to see what I can see.

First off is the burnt toffee on the label. Check

Next is vanilla, check, then orange peel, check, jasmine, check, brown sugar, check.

But no chicken and no onions.

However I on the sofa watching the TV as I nose this glass and over the course of twenty minutes my eyes bug out of my head.

CHICKEN!

ONIONS!

HOLY CRAP BATMAN!!

COOL!!!!

Awesomely weird complex nose.

Triple Check!

Time for a drink!

Boom! The 56.7 ABV punches my tongue and sets my taste buds on fire.

Yummy!

Let's go with the check list they gave me.

Aniseed, liquorice, lemons, white peppers, Contreau and chocolate limes.

All checked!

Holy snot!

The finish is fairly intense with the white peppers and chocolate limes burning their way down my throat to explode in my stomach.

Intense! And unlike ANY other Speyside that I've ever had before.

Actually I do believe it in some ways reminds me of Talisker with the white peppers.

I don't think I would have pegged this whisky as a Speyside if I hadn't been informed of that, thinking it would more likely be an Island whisky or possibly Northern Highlands.

But it is good!

And considering at times some of the mehishness from so many Speysides of the simple apple, pears, fruits, honey, flowers, vanilla that I so often see, it was VERY cool to see something that stood out.

I've never seen a Mortlach for sell in any bottleshop that I've ever visited, considering that I've heard a large part of their stock goes into the Johnnie Walker blends, not sure which ones, however if I were too, I do believe I'd be interested in giving one of their expressions a shot to see what I could see.

Once again though this bottle can only be picked up if you're a member of the Society in Australia and odds are you're looking at something like $200 to maybe $250 bucks, but for something quite a bit different and pretty cool I think it's worth it!

Find where to buy Mortlach whisky