Today we have something special for you: An indie matured sherried Mortlach. In the last few years it was very very rare to see new sherried Mortlachs coming to market and those that did came were quite pricey.

I’ve been keeping eyes on this cask since the moment Tomer told me about it a few years. While I was disappointed it took a while to realize and bring it to the shelves, I’m glad it finally happened earlier this year.

This Mortlach was distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2017 (and released in 2019!), matured in a second fill PX Sherry Butt that yielded 258 bottles with abv of 51.8%

Mortlach 21 Year Old (Goren’s Whisky) (51.8%, 690₪)

Photo Credit: whiskybase.com

Nose: Sweet dried fruit, dried dates, toffee and caramel, plums, followed by leather and meatiness. Then it’s replaced by dark chocolate, roses water, dried cranberries, cherries and grapefruit and it’s stabilized to fresh sour fruit with leather and chocolate combo.

Palate: Meaty and pink (roses and light red berries), Demerara sugar, leather, chocolate, some tobacco leaves, sour and fresh berries, pink grapefruit, ends dry with some cinnamon and nutmeg. Getting darker and heavier with time.

Finish: Medium length, leathery, tobacco, dark chocolate, pink berries and grapefruit freshness.

Thoughts: In a nutshell: This is not your ordinary Mortlach nor your ordinary PX cask. This Mortlach isn’t meaty and the sherry influence is far more delicately intertwined with the spirit. It’s fruity on the nose with extra herbal/floral touches and the Palate is spicy and sweet, balanced expertly by the sherry notes. Really a unique and good whisky.