Review 139: SMWS 76.82 (15 year Mortlach)

Oh yes, it's time to review another eccentric single cask, single malt, scotch whisky from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This time, it's a 15 year Mortlach (distillery code 76), the 82nd bottling of Mortlach for the Society. I've had Morlach whisky in the past that hasn't agreed with me. Maybe it's just that the intentionally sulfurous character of Mortlach is sometimes too sulfurous for my tastes. Let's see if this one is more to my liking!

SMWS 76.82 (15 year Mortlach)

Color: Amber -1

ABV: 56.7%

Aroma Neat:
Raw Vanilla, Honey, Beeswax/Paraffin/Crayons, Shortbread/Cookie Crumbs, Sawdust/Pencil Shavings/Graphite, Pencil Erasers (slightly), Pulpy Apple Juice, Hot Rocks, Hayseed, Grassy/Lemon Grass, Graham Crackers (with cinnamon and brown sugar).

Measured sweetness and vanilla come out first, followed by a noticeable  but not overpowering complex waxiness. Graham and cookies too! There is also a subtle, underlying fruitiness. Not bad at all!

Aroma Water:
Dust, Sawdust, Cardboard, Dried-Out Wood, Greek Yogurt, Pencil Erasers/Shavings, Apple Juice/Apple Blossoms, Green Apples, Sage, Creamed Honey, Paraffin Wax, Pretzels, Puff Pastry/Butter, Olive Oil, Shortbread Cookies.

The nose was interesting neat, but is more so with water. Dairy and herbal notes emerge. Bizarre, but enjoyable.

Taste Neat:
Beeswax, Sulfur, Thin Honey, Light Brown Sugar, Delicate Vanilla (perfume?), Olive Oil, Dry Oak, High Tannins, Graham (slightly).

More for noticeably sulfury on the tongue. Not so much as to be off-putting, but quite obvious. There are interesting oily notes and graham again. Pretty good, but not my ideal style. A bit hot with the alcohol too.

Taste Water:
Honey, Hot Paraffin Wax, Delicate Minerality, Olive Oil, Rendered Fat, Crystalized Honey, Sulfur/Earthy Dirty Mushrooms, Tannic Oak (somewhat green).

A big improvement from neat. The flavors have room to spread out and the alcohol had been tamed.

Finish:
Sulfur, Thick Vanilla, Molten Wax, Cardboard, Olive Oil, Mushrooms (slightly).

Long lasting, but not particularly endearing, imo.

Conclusion:
A rather pleasing waxy and relatively light nose, with baked goods stealing the show. Very singular and interesting with water.

Characterful, if a bit sulfurous finish. Better with water. Classic Mortlach.

Sulfurous and cardboardy finish that doesn't really do it for me.

Rating: 84/100

This is one of the better Mortlach's I've tried. I think it shows off the house style pretty honestly, thanks to the middle-of-the-road age and an active, but not dominating bourbon cask (this has to be a bourbon cask, imo, but I haven't checked). A good whisky, to be sure, but not a style that resonates with me personally. It's a pity, because I really like the nose on this one.

Josh