Mortlach 23 Years Old 1990 Cask Strength Collection (54.5%, Signatory, Sherry Butt #6074, 569 Bottles, 2014)

• Single malt scotch whisky
• 54.5% ABV, £89.95
• Score: 84/100
• 

What they say:

Distilled: 17/09/1990
Bottled: 17/02/2014
Age: 23 years
Cask Type: Sherry Butt
Cask Number: 6074
Limited to 569 bottles

What I say:

Sampled at the Water of Life Society tasting 14/9 Royal Mile Whiskies Tasting

Colour:

Rusty copper gold

Nose:

Meaty, cereal barley malt, sherry tannins, leather, oranges, peach, nectarine, pear drops (esters), a little fizzy and lively on the nose (like a corked red wine)

Taste:

Sweet and fruity, pear drops and cherry lips sweeties, strawberry, orange, apricot and peach, a little sulphuric and rubbery in places but masked by a mass of sherry tannins, some suede leather and a little mocha

Finish:

Long, odd with very sweet rubbery notes

Overall:

Unusual, a little over-sherried perhaps (if that is possible for a Mortlach!) presumably an Oloroso sherry butt, this has a mass of fruits but also tannins galore which really threw some people. Not an every day dram, but challenging and interesting nonetheless.

Don’t take my word for it:

See what Gal made of this over at Whisky Israel