ralfy review 1033 - Mortlach 11yo @48.2%vol: (Signatory)

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[@WhiskyNeighbour]

Wow, I'd love a nip of a dram like this. Love Mortlach and appreciate how this was released. Thanks for sharing!

[@jameszimmerman8701]

Spectacular review Ralfy. You’re at your best when you’re authentically enjoying your dram. I’ve been watching you since review no. 1. The landscape has changed for everyone globally. I miss the days (era’s) gone by. Available top notch whisky ( in my market) has lessened. But when something extraordinary pops up I know how to identify it. Thank you so much. Your efforts to educate and enable enthusiasts to make sound purchasing decisions has not been lost on me! Thank you so very much. Slainte!

[@alexk3088]

Great review, Ralfy. I came across a Signatory Mortlach 14 Single Cask and was glad to pay the $99 price, whereas I would never pay full retail for official Mortlach with those ludicrous, over-the-shark bottles made to be buried in a pharaoh's tomb ;) It's not as fancy as your bottle, their regular Cask Strength collection. Just says "hogshead" cask type, no additional info. I hope I like it. I've only had amazing malts in this collection.

[@robfut9954]

I’m down with distillers “taming down” their cheapest basic offering as an introduction… but they need to make the higher ABV stuff too and offer higher ABV that’s not an arm and a leg. I’m tired of this 48-50% young whisky being sold at prices as if it were an 18 year dram.

[@user-zl1bq5se5v]

I just open the CRAIGELLACHIE vintage 2012 from signatory it’s also a wonderful whisky ❤🎉

[@alexk3088]

What age is it? I have a Signatory single cask Craigellachie 12yo (2009 vintage First Fill Bourbon cask). Haven't tried it yet, but hope I like it.

[@rosendoderobles2065]

A very enjoyable review as always. Learning little by little from you Ralfy. Thank you very much.

[@paulnsm64]

A Wonderful dram Ralfy 🙏

[@johnoneill8418]

I have a bottle of Thompson brothers 6 year old blend and it's a fantastic pour for about £37. Glad that you gave it a mention and I'm hoping you're going to review it as part of this mini series...

[@rbassdo]

I’ve had some Signatory misses though few and far between. But when they hit, they hit hard!

[@alexk3088]

Good to know. But then "misses" with official bottlings are not out of the question, either. IMHO it's still worth the price of admission. I have a bottle of Signatory 8yo "Whitlaw" (Claimed to be "Unnamed Orkney" on the retailer's website, but nowhere on the bottle, which to me tastes like Scapa). I was disappointed at first, but coming back to it I'm finding some interest points. I treat the less-than-amazing bottles as etudes, lessons in tasting, so it's never a waste.

[@heatherharrison264]

I live in southern California. Not too long ago, I had a hard time finding any independent bottlings of Scotch whisky. This has changed drastically in the last year or so. The chain store Total Wine has been working with Signatory to bring some wonderful store picks of single barrel, cask strength whiskies to their stores. I haven't seen a Mortlach yet, but I have seen and bought many others. After trying a few, I have determined that I need to buy every one that I see, even if I am not familiar with the distillery. One that I fell in love with was an 11-year, single barrel, cask strength Dailuaine, which was a Total Wine store pick. That distillery is typically blend filler, but I found a unique character in the Signatory bottle. There is a lot of umami funk, and the grainy/malty note is strong. It's a difficult and aggressive flavor profile, but it works well for me, and I have been enjoying that bottle a little too much. For whisky lovers in the UK, I hope you have stores that do single barrel picks with Signatory. If you see any, grab them. You won't regret it. This is a common practice with bourbon and rye in the United States, and I am happy to see it expand to single malts and other whiskies from overseas. BevMo has also gotten into the act - I recently found a store pick of a chestnut-matured Teeling there. It's a bit weird, but I like it. I'll have to check out the local BevMo regularly to see what else they might come up with. Hopefully, the small local stores and bars will be able to get in on this too.

[@alexk3088]

Total Wine is a nice store, they have them in Florida as well. I've actually asked the manager for a discount on clearance bottles and was readily accommodated. So they had a few bottles of indy-bottled malts already discounted as clearance and I asked if they'd give me further discount if I bought them all. And they did. I think Old Malt Cask and Battlehill are their store affiliated brands and so they can apply 10% off per case like on wine. Also scored Thorabhaig Allt Gleann. Very nice selection there. They also push their store brand "no distillery statement" single malts like Glen Fohdry and other similar generics. I'm pretty sure they are all decent value, but I tend to avoid those as I like knowing what I'm tasting. This includes some unmentioned Islay malts and malt blends, which are pretty affordable.

[@vluggejapie]

I bought the Caol Ila. Also a great dram. Signatory good quality for value

[@victorhanson1475]

One of the best wisky's I ever consumed Mortach 17 yo from the Duncan & Taylor Dimensions series.

[@wegetiteasy]

I really enjoyed this high quality, very intense, sound-filled intro. More of this please. Super Ralf.

[@tamastalos5298]

I managed to find one here in Hungary at a reasonable price. Cant wait for it to arrive and pour out a dram :)

[@TheFundiOne]

Wonderful review. Appreciated the comments around the quality and quantity of ingredients. I could relate as I recently prepared a ralficious multi-veg hearty chicken soup for my team (I'm in South Africa, it's winter here).And they loved it! Back to whisky: A year ago I procured a special batch bottle: Speyside Single Whisky - Distilled at INCHGOWER Distillery, bottled by Signatory Vintage for the Whisky Brother & Co, South Africa. I'm still a novice, but seeing this review, I'm proud I mighty be on the right track! One day I'm would love to share my story of how I became an amateur whisky collector. But let me visit Scotland first!

[@nickandsue1]

I have the Glenallachie 11 in the same range and its really easy drinking..which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on how long you want to keep it!

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

Some mainstream whiskys only appeal to pallets.

[@simonkimber169]

Said it before and I'll say it again, signatory are really very good value for money. They are probably my go to independent bottlers when I want something special for not a lot of money.

[@barryhamilton7845]

It's only sold out in a few shops in the last couple of days.Up until then, it was still available.

[@TheShredfest89]

Thanks for this one. And for giving it time

[@Irene_Bae]

By golly - already sold out everywhere! The Ralfy effect is real.

[@pingu4434]

That's quite impressive.

[@somewaresim]

I managed to order a bottle 🎉 Ralfy is costing me a lot of money at the moment. Already bought Bunnahabhain 12 year 60.1%

[@Wekotin]

No it isn’t. Just placed an order for couple of bottles. Just in case it’s as good as Ralfy says.

[@Irene_Bae]

@@Wekotin Where??

[@topsecretwaffle]

​​@@Irene_Baethe whisky barrel still has it

[@yusufsayed1583]

Good Evening 😊 Awesome Review👌🏽Thanks For Sharing 👏🏼Have a Fantastic Day 👍🏼 Greetings From South Africa 🇿🇦

[@sundowner62james69]

Great review !

[@tomtalisman-yv3sm]

Thanks for the tip. Just ordered.❤

[@martinskulski8862]

Beautiful whisky 😜🥃

[@riancreamer6904]

Lots of folk below saying it's sold out ... To be fair, it was released well before Xmas ...

[@ryk-mp5lz]

New batches of this SV (& also bourbon cask Mortlach in the Signatory Unchillfiltered range) are released several times per year, so people just need to keep their eyes peeled. Mortlach has been my favourite distillery for 20-odd years; and Signatory's small batch Mortlach became my go-to dram after Diageo took over & killed the phenomenal Flora & Fauna OB - I've bought ~ 3-4 bottles of SV Mortlach per year for the past decade or so (primarily at Royal Mile Whiskies), and it's been consistently available for that whole period. On the rare occasions they've been out of stock, it's easy enough to source elsewhere (or simply wait a week or two). Wonderful whisky from Signatory at a very fair price.

[@robfut9954]

100%

[@jimmclachlan5941]

This is great stuff , you actually recommended this to me when you were at the good spirits company last year , I bought a bottle along with a few others you recommended, I do like mortlach but the official bottlings just don't do it justice.

[@farshadp6114]

Greetings Mr Ralfy and thank you for another informative review. I have a 12 yr old and a 13 yr old cask strength. The 12 yr old I have had it for 4 yrs and 13 years old for 2 yrs now, they are not exciting at all. Signatury one is AU$240, and I have a few other single malts in my list, so this one had to wait. The next one on my list is 11 year old Inchgower from an independent bottler. I have one from Lady of Glen, and I want to get one from Private Cellars' independent bottler. Have a great week.

[@peterfinucane8122]

Nothing lacking in this Mortlach review.

[@latsy1982]

Hi Ralfy, with all the weather modifications going across the Uk in the past few years, do you think the overall quality of whisky will deteriorate. Especially with the added metals being sprayed in our skies?

[@umami0247]

Hopefully I can get a bottle of this it sounds wonderful!!

[@TheZeal04]

Never seen this signatory to pick up, I did find an Adelphi one though that was a 17yr Mortlach. I'm always on the lookout for some new signatories.

[@WhiskyLoversSociety]

They do make a good dram. But they also start with a good base

[@gareth630]

Got the 11 yr GlenAllachie in May and that was top notch too. Hope you enjoyed the TT season 🙂

[@rollingpuck]

I've never been disappointed by anything from Signatory Vintage. Andrew Symington really knows his stuff. Unfortunately the Edradour distillery has been closed to visitors for the last few years with no indication of when they will open. Sadly we have very little access to Signatory in the States (as far as I've found, if anyone knows where to get them I'd love to know). Great review, as always, Ralfy. Cheers!

[@WimvanBuggenum]

I am going to look for that bottle 😊😊

[@Mylatestdram]

Today is too hot here for Scotch. I make a little Rum tasting to keeps things interesting and keep me invested. Starting out with Cachaça, moving on to Rhum Agricole and then Jamaican white Rum.

[@jimm8799]

I can’t get many independents here, but I can get the 11 year Signatory Mortlach. I will pick that one up!

[@riancreamer6904]

Big fan of Mortlach and have a couple of these in the stash. By comparison, I just opened the OB 16: nice, easy drinking malt but it feels tame and a bit thin. Way overpriced, in my opinion 😉 This is a good bottling and Signatory have been, generally, bottling good stuff,of late. The Macallan (M) from this series is also excellent, if quite 'fire and brimstone ' if you get me? 😉

[@alexk3088]

Yes, OB Mortlachs are way overpriced. But it's all because that bottle, once buried in a pharaoh's tomb, will be worth a lot some day (millennia later) 🙃

[@riancreamer6904]

Sorry, third comment here! A note on the sherry casks: I find 'weighty ' or 'beefy ' malts, like Mortlach, stand up very well to modern sherry casks. Certainly when compared to many others. It's as if they can 'soak up' the syrupy notes and integrate them much better.

[@Vortex1988]

Just checking online, and the closest I may be able to get to this (in the US) is a first fill oloroso single cask Mortlach 10 at 118.2 proof. Who knows though? Maybe if I'll run into the 11 if I actually go to the store. Either way, that 10 year sounds delicious as well.

[@DJRUDEE]

nice one 😎

[@scottyblog]

The Beast of Dufftown

[@timbanta435]

Does scotch mist add flavor or just release aroma?

[@ralfydotcom]

. . . release complexity of flavour.

[@alexk3088]

And mouthfeel, a texture.

[@MJVerhoog]

Hi Ralfy. Could there be a difference between “natural color” and “no added color” on the bottle?

[@ralfydotcom]

. . .technically, yes.

[@alexk3088]

The E150 "caramel" family of colorants are claimed to be "natural". That is if we think that it's natural for sugar to be heated in the presence of industrial acid or alkali to the point of carbonization, dissolved in grain ethanol, and then the resulting tincture used to fool the buyer 🙃But in normal human terms it is neither natural, nor a caramel (a type of candy/confectionary).

[@MJVerhoog]

@@alexk3088 I would indeed feel misled if a bottle labeled “natural color” can still contain caramel because it is a ‘natural substance’.

[@alexk3088]

@@MJVerhoog to my knowledge I don't think that Scotch whisky, when it says "natural color" would contain E150. If some of them do, that would be a great deception, indeed. Usually the ones who add colorant just avoid stating anything. But in some countries the law requires it be disclosed, so if you search online, you might find people sharing whether or not E150 is added. Many European countries require this. Germany for sure.

[@non-woodsmanuk]

out of stock.. great review though

[@christinecamley]

A delicious dram!

[@user-no6xe6vs6q]

Mortlach Aged 12 Years over Macallan Aged 12 Years and very good value for your money⛳⚽️🎱🏉

[@sourdubb755]

ralfy ordered a new tourbillon bugatti, and i googled dunnage warehouse 🤫

[@user-no6xe6vs6q]

Mortlach Aged 12 Years Sherry Cask @ 43.4% abv for £60 and Macallan Aged 12 Years Sherry Cask @ 40% abv for £85🍎🍒🍓🍅

[@user-no6xe6vs6q]

The Mortlach 2012 Aged 11 Years Signatory Small Batch is sold out @ Royal Mile Whiskies😡

[@Maltmeister1]

That's fine Ralfy that independent is a step up from official but we all know you lean toward independent bottling do maybe there's a bit of a bias tone to your review. I disagree with your take on the 16 or the 20 year for that matter,the 12 year is questionable I agree. The 16 especially has so much going on in regards to layers of flavour and the nose is impressive but I'm sure the 11 independent is a stunner as well.

[@alexk3088]

All reviewers are biased, IMHO. It's just honest to admit that. Neither Ralfy, nor anybody else is a consumer protection agency. The only thing subjective here is the abv, age and other parameters like NCF and natural color. Taste is always subjective. Bottlings exist in the context of presentation and price. So while their official bottlings might be tasty, when all else is considered I am also biased towards the indy versions.

[@neilmattos2756]

😁🙌🏻🥃

[@simongilbert2704]

i said 86 then 87 , close as i can get ;;

[@wayneg917]

If you have any guilty pleasure living in Canada you can be expected to pay a hefty price.taxation is rampant here it stands at 15 percent on alcohol purchases in bc.they don't have that bottle here I would have to order it online from Alberta and its priced at $144.99 devalued Canadian dollars.the federal incompetents in out government have no mercy.Ralfy thank you for a wonderful review on a quality spirit.

[@grahamokeefe9406]

I don't think it's accurate to say that IBs are "marketing free". They're not marketing the distilleries brands, but they're absolutely marketing their own. Look at Murray & McDavid's shiny foil boxes and labels. Look at Single Cask Nation's cute/primitive labels. Some do more than others, but there's most definitely positioning of these IB brands as premium products.

[@alexk3088]

I like Signatory's "Single Single Malt" schtick. It's the good kind of marketing, vs. "flannel".

[@JazznRealHipHop]

I soak my fruit for fruitcake in no less then 7 different whiskeys and rums it’s fantastic (but no single malts that’d just be a waste 😅)

[@barryhamilton7845]

Hope its American and Irish Whiskey,and not Scotch WHISKY?

[@JazznRealHipHop]

@@barryhamilton7845 I put a splash of Johnnie Walker Black in but that technically doesn’t count 😆

[@seanturner7]

Deadlake?

[@muppen74]

Looking forward to a review of 4 months vs. 5 months old fruitcake.

[@mickanon5607]

Don't forget the thieving governments around the world that tax alcoholic beverages due to their ABV, and the subsequent tariffs imposed upon the seller. We here in Australia are getting ABV shrinkage. 40 __> 38 __> 37 and it will continue to my dismay, disgust and dislike. CASK STRENGTH OR NOTHING should be the rule.

[@alexk3088]

All the while you're told to care about the environment, to use less fuel, then you're taxed to transport extra WATER in dilute spirits. it would be much "greener" to transport cask strength and let the buyer add his own water.

[@degmar]

Your bias is showing. In this case, it's "honorable" to lower the abv. When it's not a favored independent bottler, it's shameful and insulting to the consumer. If the bottler is reducing the abv, for whatever reason, yet labeling it as "cask strength", they are lying to us. You should be all over this, but aren't. You are playing favorites.

[@alsullivan4322]

if they are reducing the abv im sure its not to ease the price but to extend profits

[@Martin-uj7wj]

I have to agree. I'm not sure how using syrup can be considered natural. I think this review was a little biased. Still, if it gets the stuff sold its done it's job.

[@matthewgabbard6415]

Calm down

[@Jonchillfiltered]

This bottle isn't labelled as cask strength though....

[@degmar]

@@Jonchillfiltered Yep, my bad. Ralf's rant threw me off a bit.