Mortlach Gordon & MacPhail
The great disappointment
0 779
Review by @Pandemonium
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- Nose21
- Taste18
- Finish19
- Balance21
- Overall79
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Time to try this one: Mortlach 15yo Gordon & MacPhail, a bottle that is hard to find here in Belgium, but it can easily be found in a Tesco somewhere in the Highlands. I really liked its older brother, the famous 16yo Flora & Fauna, so let's wee how this one holds up.
Nose: Malted barley, sherry, notes of milk and biscuits with a touch of spice, oak and faint hints of citrus. All this served on a powerful layer of vanilla cream.
Mouth: creamy and syrupy on the palate: with tones of biscuits and malted barley, white chocolate and raisins, shades of of nutmeg and black pepper, a dash of sherry and of course the elements of toasted oak that brings forth the dominant layers of spicy vanilla
(Luckily a drop of water removes much of the vanilla)
Finish: Medium, but smooth as butter, with notes of oak and ginger.
Conclusion: I'm not going to lie, this is not what I expected and definitely not my style. I expected more fruit and that meaty quality of Mortlach. Yes, I get some sherry notes, but I'm quite amazed that this was matured in a refill sherry cask. It has American oak written all over it. I can perfectly understand that the creamy texture and vanilla tones might appeal to a lot of people, but not me. I was quite disappointed with this whisky, probably due to my high expectations.
Find where to buy Mortlach whisky
I reviewed another G&M Mortlach in the spring and was similarly disappointed. Maybe it is G&M... Maybe they don't get the good casks of the stuff from the distillery.