Mortlach 16 Year Old (2019 bottling)

Another review of the Mortlach 16 Year Old already? It has only been four months since I reviewed the relaunched ‘Distiller’s Dram’.

Exactly, and the reason is this: I was picking up reports from people who bought a bottle based on my review, after trying it in a store and going online to buy it. However they got a different batch bottled in 2019 and it turned out far less impressive.

That is not uncommon: batches of wide-scale whisky expressions are usually a couple of thousand bottles and although a good master blender will try hard to match the initial profile, sometimes this doesn’t quite work out. Batch variation is no issue if you’re mentioning the batch number (e.g. GlenDronach Cask Strength or Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength) but most of the time you’ll have to puzzle out the bottling reference on the glass of the bottle. The barcode is not enough, as this will not change.

 

Often distilleries are making a special effort when launching a new expression. GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch #1 and Bowmore Tempest Batch #1 were clearly better than subsequent batches. The Lagavulin 8 Years 200th Anniversary was also better than the wide-scale release. They use the first raving reviews to create a demand and start adding lesser casks afterwards. It’s not always the case, but a well-known strategy nonetheless.

I sometimes receive samples from distilleries and I’m buying a lot of them as 3cl samples from websites, which often makes it impossible to get the bottling code. That’s problematic at times, but obviously as a consumer you’re pretty much in the same position if you’re buying whisky online: shops never mention the L-code, sometimes not even the batch number on the label. Something to keep in the back of your head at all times. The only ones able to solve this problem are the distilleries. Batch numbers on all releases please, thank you. Or work on consistency of course.

So this is Mortlach 16 Years again. My first review was based on a sample bought from The Whisky Exchange early January, soon after the rebranded range was launched in Europe. I assume this was the first batch with a bottling code L8283DMxxx (day n°283 = October). Today I’m trying the recent batch with bottling code L9016DM001 (January 2019). There seems to be an even later batch L9107DM001 (April) as well.

 

 

Mortlach 16 yo ‘Distiller’s Dram’ (43,4%, OB 2019, L9016DM001)

Nose: oh, I see. Certainly less elegant, also more typically Mortlach I have to add. Far more bulky, meaty sherry, with lots of caramel toffee and a bit of milk chocolate. This tends to be quite overpowering, it’s missing the bright berry notes and the polished oak which added depth in the L8. More on the spiced woody side with less of the bright fruitiness.

Mouth: now simply more malty notes. Again more on the darker side of the spectrum. Toffee, butterscotch, hints of roasted barley (stout) and milk chocolate. Less oranges and figs, less structure and depth.

Finish: medium, with more chocolate and oak.

More toffee, chocolate and wood throughout, less of the bright fruitiness which added depth and complexity in the first release. This is less impressive indeed and it’s closer to the range Mortlach had before the 2018 make-over. Bummer. Many thanks for the sample, Olivier, and for bringing this to my attention.

Score: 83/100