Gordon & MacPhail Mortlach 13 year old Single Malt Cask 14437

Photo courtesy of Whiskybase

We are back with Diageo and a malt that is affectionately known as 'The Beast of Dufftown'. It is of course Mortlach. This is not a distillery bottling though as well, put simply Diadeo made a muck up of Mortlach's relaunch in 2018 when it abundantly premium-ised the brand and subsequently annoyed a lot of enthusiasts with rather exorbitant pricing.

As usual the indie market proved a better place to try 'The Beast' and so it's too one of the best known indies we turn too today, Gordon & MacPhail. Although well known as an indie bottler Gordon & MacPhail changed tack in 2024 announcing that they would stop filling new casks from other distilleries and would instead concentrate on their own distilling business and single malt brands from Benromach and The Cairn distilleries.

Getting back to the Mortlach though. The reason why it's so popular, especially with blenders, is that it's known as being robust and muscular due its unusual 2.81 times distillation method and use of worm tub condensers. It can come across a bit sulphury, full of umami and savoury notes and pairs especially well with sherry cask maturation.

This particular expression was distilled on 11/12/1998 and bottled in November 2012 and was matured in a refill sherry hogshead. There were 308 bottles from cask 14437 and this cask was bottled exclusively for Moray Golf Club.

Thanks to Ross aka Diariesofascranmerchant for the generous sample.

Nose: Sweet & fresh - vanilla, icing sugar, white grape and sweet green apple. Yeasty with an earthy, savoury note. A definite maltiness and nuttiness - almonds and macadamias. There is a slight sour yoghurt note. Sawn oak and a light leather note.

Palate: Oily and mouth coating. Initially there’s a kick of chilli pepper heat followed by draff and a meaty savouriness. Then comes lemon peel, orange oil, marzipan and a waxy note. Sultanas and cacao nibs before heading back to kiwi and grapefruit.

Finish: Medium to long length with sharp citrus, iced buns and ginger spice.

Score: 8 out of 10

Overall: This highlighted why Mortlach is often held in such high esteem, especially expressions from indie bottlers. This felt like an old school throwback with its strong yeasty and savoury character. There was plenty of complexity on show too without any notes really taking over or feeling out of kilter. Lovely stuff indeed.

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