ABV: 43.4 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is rich and fruity. At first there are dark and dried fruits overpowering everything else. There are raisins, dades, prunes and a dried tropical fruit mix with pineapples and nectarines. After a few second a top layer forms with oak, vanilla and a sprinkle of dust. It feels very thick and it almost feels savory behind the fruity exterior. This is a fruitcake whisky and there are baking spices coming through to accentuate that. This is a lovely nose, but it lacks a tiny bit of depth.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet and malty core and a fruity outer layer. The dried tropical fruits remain, but they are more integrated in the sweet core with vanilla and honey. The darker fruit notes have moves towards the edges where they interact with notes which could be described as leather-bound books on a dusty shelf. There is a hint of butterscotch coming through for those who are patient. The spices are more and more leaning towards cinnamon.

Finish: The first thing to pop up is the leather-bound books and dust. There’s now also a hint of tobacco. Inside it’s now a much fresher fruitiness with the dried tropical fruit mix very much in focus. It stays like that until the oakiness arrives. It’s a dry and quite pleasant oakiness which isn’t making a big impact, but brings a soft nuttiness and a mild bitterness to the otherwise fruity finish. This is really a great whisky, but all the flavours feels like they are sitting close to the front and it leaves a slightly empty space in the background.

Additional information
This ”Distiller’s dram” is a part of the Mortlach core range. It was released in 2018. It’s aged in a mix of first fill and refill ex-sherry casks.