by Aris Sklavenitis

Mortlach is a single malt distillery in the Speyside region of Dufftown that was founded in 1823 and is now owned by the famous multinational Diageo. It was the only distillery in the region until Glenfiddich was founded in 1887, where its founder had previously worked for 20 years at the Mortlach distillery. From 1823 onwards, it changed ownership or co-ownership several times, with a part being purchased by the brothers James and John Grand (of the famous Aberlour whisky), where in 1842 it passed into the ownership of the brothers together with John Alexander Gordon. In 1851 it began operating again, the time it was not operating it was used for various purposes, from a brewery to a church! In 1853 George Cowie joined the company, where after Gordon’s death he took over the distillery and the next generation in 1923 sold it to John Walker and Sons, with most of the spirits being used in John Walker’s blends. After 2 years in 1925 the company joined the Distillers Company, where in 1986 it was bought by Guinness and in 1997 it merged with Grand Metropolitan to create the giant Diageo.

In 2002 the distillery released its first official bottling, while in 2004 it released a collectible Mortlach 32 year old and in 2009 a 12 year old. In 2014 Diageo launched four premium single malt whiskies under the Mortlach name, it is worth noting that Mortlach spirits are a key component of Johnnie Walker Black Label.

The Mortlach distillery is one of the most unique distilleries, with each of the six having a different shape and size, while something worth noting is that the Mortlach distillates are triple distilled (they are also blended with some double distilled), something extremely unusual for Highland Single Malt Whisky. The distillation tails are sent to Wee Witchie where together with other distillation heads they are triple distilled and together with other double distilled distillates give a result that is distilled exactly 2.81 times as stated on the bottle…it is not by chance that they call it “The Beast of Dufftown”.

The Mortlach Single Malt Scotch Whisky 12 Years Aged is a distillate for sophisticated drinkers who love special whiskies. It is aged in American and French barrels that previously had Bourbon and Sherry in them respectively, which gives an extra complexity to the final product. Its color is medium intensity amber with caramel highlights, it has aromas of dried fruits such as plum, ripe red and stone fruits, aromas of coffee, vanilla, oak, tobacco, caramel and nuts. A distillate at the same time “sweet & spicy”, where its alcohol is at 43.4% alcoholic degrees, but it is well integrated, in the mouth it is quite rich with a fatty texture and a long aftertaste. Clearly a malt that would like a smoky beef brisket greased on the side!

Score: 18.5/20

20 – Truly excellent

19 – Top-notch spirit

18 – A superior spirit with exceptional depth

17 – A superior spirit

16 – A high-quality spirit

15 – A drinkable spirit with no flaws