Mortlach 23 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask) Review
Although I’ve only had a handful of different expressions/bottlings, Mortlach has quickly become one of my favorite distilleries, particularly if you’re talking about independent bottlings. Last week I reviewed a 15 year old Mortlach bottled by Gordon & MacPhail. Today I’m taking a look at another indie bottling, this time an unfiltered, cask strength sherry bomb from Blackadder.
Blackadder is not necessarily one of the biggest independent bottlers, but they have developed a reputation as being one of the best. Their Raw Cask series in particular is held in high regard by whisky fans, as the series presents whisky in its most raw form—completely unfiltered in any way and bottled at cask strength and natural color.
Most whiskies are at least barrier-filtered before being bottled, and many are also chill-filtered. By eschewing any filtering process, Raw Cask bottlings are very similar to drinking whisky drawn straight from the cask. Every bottle in the series includes bits of cask sediment—oak bits and char can be seen swirling around at the bottom of the bottle. It’s whisky as it was meant to be.
This particular bottle of Mortlach was distilled on November 24, 1988, aged in a single refill sherry butt for 23 years, and bottled in September 2012. My bottle is number 233 out of 562. Since this was bottled back in 2012, it’s unlikely you’re going to come across this sitting on the shelf of your local liquor store. But then again, I did, so who knows. Will this one taste as good as it’s specs make it sound? Let’s find out (spoiler: YES).
Mortlach 23 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask) Review
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Speyside
ABV: 56.6%
Non chill-filtered
Natural Color
Nose
Massive, old sherry. Funky oak. Dark fruits. Freshly baked chocolate chip muffins. A hint of rose. Raisins. Like walking into a bakery or confectionary shop. Some savory, meaty notes hiding under the bakery, like there’s a butcher shop in the basement. Huge, powerful, wonderful. Probably the best nose I’ve experienced.
Palate
Sweet and rich arrival. Rich milk chocolate. Baked goods—chocolate chip scones, coffee cake, muffins, and cherry pie. Dried fruits. Juicy, mature maltiness. At times it feels like it’s knocking on the door of being too sweet, but doesn’t break the door down. Like the nose, there are some meaty and savory notes to be found hiding behind the sweets. Continuously evolving throughout, with the sweetness being balanced out perfectly by savory robustness. Complex and delicious, with a mouthfeel that is rich, creamy, and perfectly oily. Just wonderful.
Finish
Long and warming. Cinnamon. Clove. Nutmeg. Dark chocolate. Raisins. Cherry pie. Lasts forever.
Overall
A massive malt. A sherry bomb to end all sherry bombs. It’s everything you’d imagine a 23 year old cask strength ex-sherry Speysider would be, and then some. Big and robust, sweet and savory, deep and complex. When drinking this whisky, I can’t think of anything else except the whisky. When I’m not drinking this whisky, I wish I was drinking this whisky.
This is why I love independent, single cask, cask strength bottlings. Some are good. Some are great. And then every once in a while, you find one that’s transcendent. This is Mortlach at its finest.
SCORE: 96/100
Final Thoughts
This is the highest score I’ve given to a whisky (so far), and it’s well deserved. It’s the best whisky I’ve ever tasted (so far). Like any great whisky, this demands your full attention. If you’re lucky enough to find a bottle or pour of this somewhere, be sure to really slow down and savor every sip.
Buy again? Yes. A thousand times yes. I bought this bottle about a year ago as a birthday present for myself. At the time, it was the most expensive bottle I’d ever bought (around $200, which is actually a bargain when you look at how much 20+ year, cask strength, sherry-matured Mortlach is going for today). It was money well spent. If I ever saw this in a store again, my heart would skip a beat, and I wouldn’t be able to get to the cashier fast enough.
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.
