Mortlach Special Releases 2022

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 
Distillery Bottling 70cl / 57.8%

A no-age-statement Mortlach bottled at a hefty 57.8% for Diageo's Special Releases 2022.

This 2022 Special Releases Mortlach has been given the embarrassing soubriquet The Lure of the Blood Moon, perhaps as a tenuous reference to the Tawny Port, virgin oak and Red Muscat wine casks in which it was finished. But really, your guess is as good as ours.

On the plus side, it does have a pretty cool owl on the label.

Attributes

Tasting Notes

Official Tasting Notes

Appearance: Gleaming gold with ruby lights. Nose: Robust savoury, rich notes evoke a hearty cassoulet with haricots, tomatoes, spicy sausage, and crisp pork belly. Intriguing aromas of grape and red wine entwine with this meatiness then, as the nose develops, become more mineral. 
A little water changes the picture again, lowering the spiciness and bringing up more rounded, wine- accented sweet red fruit.

Body: Medium to full.

Palate: Rich and smoothly mouth-filling in texture, while the deep and intense taste is sweetly fruity rather than meaty, and spicy-dry, as the virgin oak makes its presence felt. Magnificently lively, with a richly layered taste, in which hints of ginger lead a spicy dance. A dash of water fashions a delicious, harmonious and strong marriage between fruitiness and black pepper spiciness.

Finish: Long and deeply impressive, with power, fruit and black pepper in perfect harmony, a spicy kick as it goes down and a warming glow spreading across the palate. Finally, the palate is left dry, bathed in a glorious afterglow. A drop of water adds a dash of acidity.