Mortlach 11yo 2012
Signatory Vintage Small Batch 2023 Release | 48.2% ABV
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
The beauty of robust distillate in a dance with big sherry
In celebration of the ugly labels
He that loves a rosy cheek,
Or a coral lip admires
Or from star-like eyes doth seek
Fuel to maintain his fires;
As old Time makes these decay,
So his flames must waste away.
But a smooth and steadfast mind,
Gentle thoughts, and calm desires,
Hearts with equal love combined,
Kindle never-dying fires:—
Where these are not, I despise
Lovely cheeks or lips or eyes.
This poem by T. Carew must be one of my favourites. In my opinion, these mere twelve lines of verse teach us more about how to approach love and long-term relationships than any self-help book might do.
It’s applicable to love, lust, and relationships, sure. As outer beauty and the treasured features of youth and vitality start to slowly abandon us, we can either wither in the tragic realisation that every part of us is starting to sag except for our gums, or we can try our best to hold onto our vitality and try to focus more on our inner strengths and beauties. And more importantly; those of the people we love.
I see more and more people from my generation, in our ever-shallower society, confusing the way their loved one looks without a shirt on with actual love and appreciation. Social media sure doesn’t help us in that. Real love, deep love, the love of two minds and hearts intertwined making sparks fly and flowers sprout wherever they land, especially as you age as a couple, is invaluable. (Yes, I’m fully aware of the irony of me being the youngest writer here, more than once semi-playfully scoffed at in the writer’s chat. Bitterness and jealousy, etc, etc.)
I won’t try to dissect this poem or anything. We’re not in class here. Instead, I’ll try to shine a different light on it.
You see, the slippery slope of focussing too much on outer beauty is all too often applicable to material things as well. We tend to get carried away with chasing ‘premium’ things. Or at least fall prey to the illusion of premium; attaining something that is better, prettier, more appealing, more beautiful. Maybe it’s cars, sports equipment, computers, coffee, fashion or phones. Almost no one is entirely immune to this phenomenon in one way or another. If the purchases we make are truly of better quality, then no harm is done. But sometimes we realise, quickly or after a while, that the ‘upgrade’ we spent our hard-earned money on just tricked us with clever presentation and positioning and, in fact, doesn’t come close to offering the value we thought it would.
For me whisky is always doing its best at being that culprit. I’ve already admitted in a previous review of Glenfiddich 21yo that I’m no stranger to mistaking fancy packaging and marketing for quality. In my early days of trying anything and everything I regularly fell into the trap of “Oo, famous brand, fancy label; must be good!” A couple of years have passed and with my journey into independent bottlers and more enthusiast-focused distilleries has come a realisation. I have become deeply mistrustful of fancy labels.
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a well-thought-out label. Colours that complement each other. A decent, readable font in a good contrast colour, good use of texture, etc. Tasteful representation is always appreciated, but I’m talking about labels that look a bit too thought out. A bit too polished, a bit too nice. The ones that reek of big-boy marketing departments and contrived value. Looking at you, Ardbeg Committee releases.
I get this feeling: a creeping sensation when looking at a bottle or a box that makes me think they’ve tried to polish it up enough to make that, instead of the quality of the product, the reason for purchasing. The exact opposite can often be found with integrity-forward distilleries and certainly with independent bottlers.
Would you like an extreme case in point? Google a bottle of Springbank 21yo. Pretty coloured label, right? But the label design is pretty much the same as on their regular core range releases, and as with the label of their sister-product Kilkerran, looks like it was made using Word Art running on Windows Vista. They know very well that they don’t need anything more than that. The quality of the liquid is what makes it fly off the shelves.
The same can be said for some independent bottlers. And I think the range of Signatory Vintage Small Batch Editions, that today’s bottle is from, is a great example.
Review
Mortlach 2012, 11yo Signatory Vintage Small Batch Edition #1, First-fill Oloroso sherry and ex-bourbon casks, 2023 release, 48.2% ABV
£65 and occasional availability
In my personal opinion black, red and almost rose-gold must be one of the tackiest colour combinations out there. That red fades to darker the further down you look and, at its darkest point, is adorned with black, hard to read writing. Why? I don’t know. There are a number of fonts working together like some kids who don’t really get along having to do a group project. And it took me a while to notice that the label is embellished with sweeping, curving, black brushstrokes at the edges, seemingly placed at random. Forget Windows Vista, this was done on XP. The photos really don’t do it justice.
I think this label is, with the best will in the world, a bit of a mess. I absolutely love it.
Imagine the trust you must have in your product for you to decide, when bringing out a slightly more-special version of your standard range, that the label should therefore be considerably worse. It fills me with confidence, because, goodness knows, the liquid inside is what will have to sell this product. And it does. Wonderfully so.
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
The beauty of robust distillate in a dance with big sherry
Nose
Dark, warm, a bit malty. It’s not subtle, but not super-shouty either. There's a big character here. Mint, brown caster sugar, kitchen herbs, thyme, a hint (just a hint) of soy sauce. Stewed prunes and raisins. A mixed bunch of dried fruits in syrup. Pickled ginger? Complex. Add water and it slowly starts to unravel before your eyes.
Palate
Just shy of being a big fat sherry monster. Don’t be fooled by the colour into thinking it’s merely liquid raisins. This offers way more: gritty, dirty, savoury.
Mind you, the sherry influence is here and in great quantities, but you feel the weighty, hefty distillate standing up to it well. It’s robust, unashamedly confident and impossible to ignore. Mint again (on some nights the arrival was really quite minty) and a lovely bitter aftertaste of filter coffee. Oranges, dark citrus oil. Grapefruit tartness. Those dried fruits on syrup again. It becomes even more complex given a decent amount of time in the glass and playing around with water will help you get the most out of it. The finish brings dark After Eight chocolates and over-brewed black tea.
The Dregs
I have mentioned the label inspiring confidence in the product. You know what else does? I’ve sipped this in low, medium, and high temperature conditions and every time a big, thick Scotch Mist shows up in no time to reassure you that this malt is un-chill filtered in the fullest sense. It doesn’t go unnoticed.
At a time in my whisky journey where I find myself shying away from sherry cask maturation and more into ex-bourbon (a topic for another review in due time), this arrived to show me balance and bring reassurance. It taught me that big sherry influence doesn’t mean that every spirit will end up over-powered to the point of being unrecognisable. I will save this, or at least do my very best to save this, until the weather gets cold, dark, and gloomy again. It’s that kind of dram.
This is a gorgeous, robust whisky. The fact it boasts a face only a mother could love is easily forgotten as I decide, with a grin, that I’m only interested in the beauty that lies within.
Score: 8/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. MM
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