Mint condition! +++++++++++++ Mortlach 18Y 50CL is the 18 year old single malt Scotch whisky from Mortlach, released in 2014 as part of a new range from the distillery, alongside the Rare Old, the 25 Year Old and the travel retail exclusive Special Strength. Matured in a combination of Sherry and refill American oak casks, the Mortlach 18 Year Old is presented in a very striking bottle, with fancy metal framework at its base. The Mortlach distillery was the first to be licensed within Dufftown, being founded by James Findlater, Donald Mackintosh and Alex Gordon in 1823. It passed briefly into the hands of the Grant brothers of Glen Grant fame who gutted the buildings and used the equipment for their distillery in Rothes. It was George Cowie and his son Alexander who, from the 1850s on, recommenced whisky production and steered Mortlach to a pre-eminent position as a blending malt. Although no-one is sure where the unique distillation regime originated, its adherence to richness and weight singles Mortlach out as one of the distilleries with a robust belief in the older ways of making whisky. A very compelling, moreish and appetising mortlach for those who like their whisky robust. Astonishingly complex throughout and characterised by a fine interplay of meaty notes, malty sweetness and balancing citrus. Light, well balanced and nuanced throughout. Delicate at first with the light fruity aroma of fresh green apples. This soon disappears in a well-paced development to reveal a supple and savoury mortlach core suffused with candied sweetness: a heady mix of blackcurrant, roast chestnut and treacle toffee. With water, it opens slowly with spicy notes of cedar and caramelised fruit sugars. Medium to rich-bodied. Cooling, thick and smooth overall. Cautious and creamy at first with flashes of intense sweetness before an espresso coffee note develops. This is mortlach at its most robust; rich and muscular with a mid-palate in which tannins bring out cocoa, damson and a real earthiness to compete with a rich honey sweetness. Later, faint notes of balsam introduce a growing sandalwood spiciness.