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mortlach 1988 30 years old gordon macphail

Mortlach 1988 30 Years Old (Gordon & MacPhail)

27 May 2019 3 comments Article Mortlach, Scotland, Speyside, Tasting Notes

Just a few weeks ago the oldest official Mortlach ever was announced by the distillery. At 47-years of age it is very old indeed, although the 75-year-old Mortlach that Gordon & MacPhail released still takes the crown.

The Mortlach I review today is also from Gordon & MacPhail, yet far from as old as the aforementioned releases. Still, three decades of wood aging is nothing to sneeze at, and it’s from a refill sherry hogshead to boot. This should be good.

Mortlach 1988 30 Years Old (48.8%, Gordon & MacPhail, C#18/068)

Nose: Lots of milk chocolate and malted barley, with plenty of notes of straw as well, before making way for redcurrant, a hint of sweet lemonade and red apples. Finally a touch of honey as well. Balanced and complex.
Taste: A nice sweet, fruity hit at first, with honey and oranges at the forefront. However, it is also somewhat chalky, with a touch of white pepper. A whiff of beeswax too, as well as leather, shoe polish and tobacco leaves.
Finish: A tad herbal, but mainly an encore of the excellent flavours described above. Long.

Score: 91

I’m very taken by this Mortlach, which shows a wonderful complexity, and reminds me somewhat of another great I tasted from this distillery.

Sample provided by Gordon & MacPhail

Thijs Klaverstijn Kingairloch 3
Thijs Klaverstijn

Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.

Tags: 1988, 30yo, gordon macphail, mortlach, speyside

3 comments

  • Rob de Vries 27 May 2019 at 19:27 - Reply

    Hi Thijs, a lovely Mortlach indeed. Where did you get the information that this is a refill sherry hogshead? The label only says refill American hogshead. Thanks, Rob

    • Thijs Klaverstijn 27 May 2019 at 19:36 - Reply

      Hmm, I’d have to check. I wrote this post a little while ago. Let me ask someone at G&M if my info is correct. I’ll get back to you.

    • Thijs Klaverstijn 28 May 2019 at 09:57 - Reply

      Just got an answer: it indeed is a refill sherry hogshead.

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