spirits whiskey
43.4
Mortlach 16 Year Old — The Distiller's Dram
Speyside, Scotland
About this product
Mortlach 16 Year Old 'The Distiller's Dram' is the expression that convinced the whisky world that Mortlach deserved its own spotlight. Released in 2014 as part of Diageo's Mortlach relaunch, it is the most complex and ambitious expression from the 'Beast of Dufftown' — the 2.81x distillation ratio creates an extraordinarily heavy, meaty spirit that gains wax, leather, truffle, and savouriness with 16 years of sherry cask maturation. It is completely unlike anything else in Speyside — the polar opposite of Glenlivet's fruity lightness. Consistently 96-98 points.
The deductive profile Library
colourRich copper-mahogany
noseUniquely savoury and rich — beef stock, leather, truffle, dark fruit, wax
palateHeavy and meaty — extraordinary texture, truffle, dried fig, dark fruit, big tannin
finishVery long, savoury and drying, beef fat and leather persist
Service
notesPair with aged beef, truffle preparations, or dark chocolate. Warn guests unfamiliar with the style — the savouriness is striking.
glasswareGlencairn
serve tempNeat; never diluted with more than 5ml water
Open The Library to see this section in full.
Open The LibraryTasting profile
Uniquely savoury and rich — beef stock, leather, truffle, dark fruit, wax
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Pairings
complement
casual
Mortlach 16's meaty depth bridges the ox cheeks' gelatin richness; the whisky in the braise creates a butcher's pairing
classic
main
complement
casual
Mortlach 16's meaty complexity bridges the pot au feu and marrow; a powerful Speyside for a powerful slow-cooked preparation
classic
main
complement
cheese
Mortlach 16's worm-tub power bridges the Époisses intensity; a characterful Speyside for a characterful washed rind
classic
cheese
complement
game
Mortlach 16's robust meatiness bridges the roast grouse; a powerful Speyside for Scotland's most prestigious game bird
classic
main
complement
dessert
Mortlach 16's intensity bridges the dark Christmas cake; a powerful Speyside for the richest of seasonal fruit cakes
classic
dessert
complement
casual
Mortlach 16's complexity bridges the Scotch broth; a powerful Speyside for the warming simplicity of Scotland's national soup
established
casual
complement
wagyu_premium_protein
Mortlach 16's extraordinary meaty, waxy, truffle character finds direct complementarity in aged beef tartare with truffle — this is the closest a whisky comes to tasting like the food it is paired with.
adventurous
starter