Mortlach 1976 Gordon & MacPhail 36 Years Old 44% 1976

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Serge Valentin (88)

Mortlach 36 yo 1976/2012 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, lincensed bottling) G&M have always been Mortlach specialists and they’ve issued some stunning old ones. Remember the 70 years old? Colour: gold. Nose: not big but complex, very complex. Cigar-complex, I’d say, it’s like nosing a brand new box of Partagas Lusitanias (my references are now outdated, I’ve stopped smoking cigars quite a while ago). Leather, tobacco, cedar wood, aniseed, liquorice, smoked ham, blood oranges, French marigold… Gets drier over time though, with some wood and black tea. Mouth: movingly old-skool, I’d say. A delicately oaky base (chocolate and black tea) with some apples, oranges, chamomile tea, orange blossom, pastries and tobacco again. It’s not big, but it delivers despite its slight drying side. Finish: a little short, with some unexpected notes of ripe strawberries, but the miracle is that it did not get any oakier. So, no drying finish, hurray! Comments: these lovely whiskies can be a little frustrating because of their low strengths, and this one was a little frustrating indeed, but I think quality remains very, very high. Old-fashioned, moi?

BOW (89)