Name: Mortlach 1989 (The First Editions)
Brand: Mortlach
Rating: 3.5 (2 reviews)

Based on its colour, this Mortlach 1989 would be from a bourbon cask, which is less common than sherried versions of this distillery, or maybe a refill sherry cask. Bottled in the series The First Editions.

Mortlach 22 yo 1989 (52,1%, The First Editions 2012, ES 012/01)

Nose: lots of honey with pastry notes (croissant, vanilla cake) alongside the big malty character. Goes on with almonds and hazelnuts. Nice hints of dried banana. Yellow raisins and plums. Mead. Some fresh sawdust. Nicely warm and fruity.

Mouth: still honeyed, but it quickly gets spicier (ginger, pepper) and there’s even a smoky edge to it. Even a faint earthy / leafy note. Seville oranges. Traces of nuts and caramel / toffee.

Finish: medium long, with clearly more oak supporting the fruits and spices.

Interesting how you feel the slightly heavy body of Mortlach even though this is an otherwise surprisingly clean and fruity version. I like the nose best. Around € 115.

Score: 86/100

3Comments

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1

JordanDevereaux on 2 June 2017 at 05:38

Probably irrelevant to anyone outside of Oregon at this point (just went on closeout here), but the label says that it’s from a bourbon cask. But worth noting for anyone else looking for reviews before they buy.
2

WhiskyNotes on 2 June 2017 at 07:57

Are you sure you’re talking about the same whisky? I’m quite sure this label says nothing about the cask type. Also it was bottled five years ago, it’s long sold out but they had a few similar bottlings since then.
3

JordanDevereaux on 2 June 2017 at 08:02

Yup, same vintage and bottling dates, same cask number, same strength, etc. It may be that there was a different label for the American market, which is why it states the cask type. And the market moves veeeery slowly here, especially in control states.

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