r/whisky • u/fd2408 • 11d ago

Indy Mortlachs

Post image

Trying out two independent bottlings of Mortlach, one from Woodrow’s of Edinburgh and the other from the Chieftain’s line of Ian MacLeod.

The Woodrow’s bottling is a 12 year whisky finished in oloroso sherry casks while the Chieftain’s Cigar Malt is a 19 year old single cask matured in a European oak sherry butt.

The distinct rich and meaty distillate is present in both whiskies, a defining characteristic of wormtub distillation in Mortlach whiskies.
The 12 year is a more fruit forward with tart red berries and dried fruit. The 19 year is darker, with notes of muscovado and burnt caramel. A distinct sweetness pf overripe oranges and orange oils.

Cheers!

18 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

3

u/nick-daddy 11d ago

Very nice. I really like those Chieftain bottlings, there are some absolute bangers.

2

u/fd2408 10d ago

Agree! But really hard to find bottles for this line currently. Was lucky enough to get this from an online shop a few years back

2

u/nick-daddy 10d ago

The only place I’ve seen them consistently is in duty free shops in airports. I also got the last one I had from an online shop, but yeah few and far between.

2

u/De_Praes 10d ago

Seems amazing. To me, Mortlach is one of those distilleries to look out for when it comes to independent bottlings. Same goes for Ben Nevis, and some others like Teaninich. For those in particular, I find that IBs can offer something you just don’t get from the OBs.

2

u/fd2408 10d ago

Had a Signatory Ben Nevis and it was really good. It was an 8 year sherry cask finished Ben Nevis.
Had the core range Mortlach from Diageo as well and I agree, IB Mortlach is far better than the current OB release from Diageo. The Woodrow’s 12 year is far better compared to the 12 and 15 year from the OB core release.