Mortlach 20 Year Old Cowie's Blue Seal

  • Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  • Distillery Bottling

70cl / 43.4%

4.5 (4 Reviews)

Mortlach 20 Year Old / Cowie's Blue Seal

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In Stock

£275

£229.17 ex VAT

(£392.86 per litre)

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The elegant oldie in the Mortlach range, channeling The Beast of Dufftown (the distillery's nickname) into a more refined form. Matured solely in sherry casks, the whisky has been crafted to match rich and dark sherry character against old, refined oaky notes. It's one to take time with, well-balanced and complex, with much more going on than you might expect.

Tasting Notes (2)

Frequently Bought Together

£503

Flavour Profile

Style

  • Body
  • Richness
  • Smoke
  • Sweetness

Character

  • Clove Clove
  • Raisins Raisins
  • Apple Apple
  • Dates Dates
  • Milk Chocolate Milk Chocolate
  • Dried Fruit Dried Fruit

Food Pairing

Our wine expert, head buyer and experienced sommelier Dawn Davies MW, recommends Mortlach 20 Year Old to bring out the best in these dishes.

  • Cured Meat Cured Meat
  • Tiramisu Tiramisu
  • Pâté Pâté
Facts

Facts

  • Bottler Icon

    Bottler

    Distillery Bottling

  • Age Icon

    Age

    20 Year Old

  • Country Icon

    Country

    Scotland

  • Region Icon

    Region

    Speyside

Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes

  • Tasting notes from Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange

    • Nose

      Olive oil, sultanas and green apples to lead. Warm, oily engines hide right at the back, with soft fruity notes pushing forward – sweet apples, raisins and mixed peel. Tropical notes begin to emerge: pineapple and candied papaya. Brown sugar and toasted oak slowly builds.

    • Palate

      Demerara-sugar dusted apples, olive-oil sponge cake and a bowl of mixed sultanas and raisins. Darker flavours slowly develop, with dark chocolate, dates and prunes balanced against fresher apple and pear orchard fruit notes. Hints of honey and menthol appear towards the end.

    • Finish

      Honey and menthol to start – lemon Lockets without the lemons – with nuts and vanilla to follow.

    • Comment

      Harking back to the elegance of the Mortlach 25 Year Old from the previous range, this layers on sherry notes and adds extra depth to that dram’s more gentle character. A marriage of traditional sherry with old Mortlach’s more delicate and fragrant side. More a pussy-cat than The Beast of Dufftown, and that’s no bad thing.

  • Producer's Notes

    • Nose

      Super dense and rich, with touches of floor polish and much more of the waxy, earthy, meaty element seen in the previous examples. This has real elegance and complexity - and little intrigue. There is an added oiliness which you only get from mature whiskies. This in turn moves into varnish, leather oil, wood resins and even a touch of dubbin. The sensation is like being in some ancient, mysterious, library. There are dried fruits, a touch of scented wood, fir trees, cedar, Moroccan leather, slightly foxed books, floor polish, and some ink. It grows in the glass, moving towards chanterelle mushroom/cep mushroom even some of the wax crayon also seen on the 12-year-old. Huge, highly complex and contemplative.

    • Body

      Robust and rich. Palate clinging.

    • Palate

      The mature depth seen on the nose comes immediately into focus, but before it goes towards the dark there’s a refreshing lift of aromatic and overripe fruits (quince especially) and a touch of spiciness. It then expands as the fruits dry and the oils start to coat the tongue. The meaty element comes in quickly here, full-on grunt with animalic edges, cured leather and light bitter notes that bring to mid nutshell, espresso crema, damson jam, cacao nibs all balanced with some hedgerow berry fruits meaning that the back palate has a brighter lift than you might expect from something which is so dense and meaty (think of a berry sauce with venison). As it develops so this back palate shows more roasting tin elements, some bark. It continues to extend into dried fruits.

    • Finish

      Quite dense. It carries on seamlessly from the progression seen on the palate with liquorice and dried fruit.

Awards

Awards

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Customer Reviews

Reviews (4)

Reviews

  • 3

    M Ozdamar,

    I tried this product at the last whisky show and I liked it. Until I tried the 16 year old, which I liked a lot more. Rather than buying a 20yo, I sooner but 2 bottles of the 16yo and have enough left over for a bottle of Clynelish 24yo.

  • 4

    O.A.H.,

    A great sip, and a lovely mildly sherried Speyside. But, it still can't seem to match the epic style and purity of the original Mortlach bottlings from a decade ago.

  • 5

    Donna and Don McCammon - Missoula, Montana,

    We have thoroughly enjoyed our introduction to Mortlach through the 16 year Flora and Fauna series first discovered on a visit to Edinburgh several years ago where it was compared to a Macallan's 25 at the shop, to the Mortlach 16 and on .....to the Mortlach 20. This continues our love for the distillery's products and the taste, smell and palate that is put into each cask and eventually in the bottle. We only wish we could tour the distillery when we visit Scotland late April/early May 2023.

  • 5

    Donna and Don McCammon - Missoula, Montana,

    We have thoroughly enjoyed our introduction to Mortlach through the 16 year Flora and Fauna series first discovered on a visit to Edinburgh several years ago where it was compared to a Macallan's 25 at the shop, to the Mortlach 16 and on .....to the Mortlach 20. This continues our love for the distillery's products and the taste, smell and palate that is put into each cask and eventually in the bottle. We only wish we could tour the distillery when we visit Scotland late April/early May 2023.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

While we endeavour to provide full and accurate information on our website, there may be occasions where producers have updated their recipe or failed to provide full details of their ingredients and processes. This may affect factors including the product style and allergen information, and we would advise that you always check the label and not solely rely on the information presented here. If you are at all uncertain about a product then please contact our customer service team before purchase.

Responsible Drinking

Responsible Drinking

The misuse of alcohol can lead to immense harm and we want to make sure that the great drinks we stock are enjoyed responsibly as part of a healthy lifestyle. Learn more about responsible drinking.

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How we pack

  • Eco-friendly Packaging

    Eco-friendly Packaging

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Return Policy

14-Day returns policy

We want you to be 100% happy with your order and it is our aim to ensure that all products supplied to all customers arrive in perfect condition. You have the right to cancel your order at any time without being charged for the goods ordered within 14 days of purchasing (other than for perishable or personalised products or those products that have been specified as non-returnable).