Mortlach 14 yo 1973 / 1987 Intertrade 54.6% vs Mortlach 21 yo 1970 / 1991 Turatello 56.7%
Mortlach 14 yo 1973 / 1987 Intertrade 54.6%
Beef bouillon and sticky jammy black-purples. Burnt gravy, oily pans in a hot oven, cooked wine and unsweetened cocoa. Big whisky. Savoury herbs like sage and pepper abound. Despite these meaty notes it’s not as sulphurous as some modern examples. This is a great match of cask and spirit. On the tongue, an interesting mix of savoury spices but now also sweeter allspice make a savoury-sweet sherry. Great old whisky. 91 pts
Mortlach 21 yo 1970 / 1991 Turatello 56.7%
A bit less convincing. Musty honey, dried chamomile, frankincense in hot braziers. A lot more fragile and even a little anaemic. Crumbling paper, tobacco, aniseed dust and old camphor. Light medicinal tea with ingredients like bark, ginseng and preserved lemon. At least it comes alive on the tongue where the tickle of those would be gunpowder notes finally surface, but not my favourite old Mortlach. 87 pts
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