Mortlach 1999 21 Year Old Sherry Finish Special Releases 2020

Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange

• Nose

  Big sweetness to start: syrup and singed toffee – wide, rich and sweet. Orchard fruit, vanilla and toffee notes build – well structured and elegant. Pineapple hints develop, both freshly sliced (and very ripe) and barbecued.

• Palate

  The hints of richness come through on here – it’s much bigger and weightier than the nose suggested. A kick of gingery spice leads into a pile of juicy raisins, with ginger cake, rum cake and pineapple upside-down cake underneath. Baked apples and poached pears appear, with notes of meaty spirit, spice and forest ponds growing alongside.

• Finish

  Soft spice and spongecake followed by damp apples and unripe pears.

• Comment

  It’s toned down from last year, but after the nose suggested some almost bourbon-cask elegance the palate wipes that from the mind – it’s ‘only’ a sherry finish, but it’s picked up a nice whack of flavour from the casks. Not enough to hide the spirit, though, which definitely elevates it.