[November, 2018] The 16-years old Mortlach of the Flora & Fauna series is (probably) the most legendary Mortlach release because of its perfect combo of massive sherry and bold malt flavours - a real stunner in the Traditional Scotch style (and I guess many casks were paxarette improved, what is absolutely fine with me). But then Diageo cancelled this release and tried to re-position Mortlach as a premium malt with super-premium prices (and 0.5 litre bottles only). The quality of these "high-end" bottlings was rather chequered and luckily the consumers refused the join in that game (what is not usual during these crazy whisky boom times). Guess what? Diageo reacted and re-positioned Mortlach with the new 12, 16 and 20-years old releases in the middle of the market (again) what is absolutely okay. Hey, consumers still have power in the whisky world - a triple hooray and a big Mortlach dram on that, slainte!

This new Mortlach 16-years old is completely different from the old Flora & Fauna edition (less sherry-driven) but it is a very Traditional Scotch style dram that is flawless (no sulphur-spoiled cask in this batch what is a great achievement for Mortlach that is infamous for many sulphurous drams), it is perfectly balanced and dangerously quaffable. To be honest, I fell in love with this dram from the very first sip on and this did not change until now (when half of the bottle is gone already). It is neither the most complex nor the most impressive whisky but it is what whisky should be: Easy to sip, delicious and very, very enjoyable...

PS: Always remember there are many different batches of such standard drams - my review is on batch L8283DM002 (bottling hall code on the bottom of the back side of the bottle) that was bottled on October 10th, 2018. Later releases might be quite different (see my review on batch L9016 WB id 130617)...

The Beast of Dufftown in its new cloak - boy, that rebranding was so desperately needed. To hell with Mortlach's ultra-premium deluxe image! On the nose, blood oranges, cloves and heather jump at you. Raspberries, sage and honey follow shortly after, and there is an earthy note creeping in. Full-bodied and intense, the palate guides you through the flavor wheel: fruity, bitter and sour, then savory, sweet and slightly dry. Tangerine, peppermint and a touch of stout escort the long and cask-dominated finish. A great comeback of a characterful Speysider.

RATING: 4.0/5.0 stars ≙ 88 pts → FIRST-CLASS

What a crying shame. 43.4% is odd. Chill filtered and full of caramel is sad. Is this really the beast of Dufftown. It is expensive and the best to be said about it is that it inoffensive. Very disappointing.

Tasting notes for the first batch with bottle code L8283DM002.