After weeks of reviews of Islay whiskies, rums and mezcals, let’s close out the month with a couple of Speyside malts. First up, a young bourbon cask Mortlach bottled by Signatory for Binny’s in Chicago. Mortlach in its official incarnation is known for sherry cask-matured whisky and that’s also the guise in which it usually shows up from indies as well. And so I’m always happy to try bourbon cask versions. Let’s get right to this one.
Mortlach 11, 2009 (55.1%; Signatory for Binny’s; hogshead 306532; from a bottle split)
Nose: Honey, toasted cereals, lemon, toasted oak, dried leaves. On the second and third sniff the toasted cereal moves towards heavily charred toast and the lemon moves towards lime. As it sits the lime gets muskier—more in Makrut lime territory now. With time there’s some sweeter fruit (blueberries). A couple of drops of water pull out some pastry crust and push the citrus back. Continue reading