Edition #73 Duo Review | 57.1% ABV

Why Would We Be Buying Anything Else?

It’s a question that has been asked many times when discussing the 100° proof series by Signatory Vintage. I think it’s been well over two years since the first ‘editions’ in this series were released, and fair to say they took the whisky landscape by storm.

Single malts and single grains, all coming with age statements, each one released at one hundred ‘imperial proof’ of 57.1% ABV(so indeed all but ‘cask strength’), all at very appealing prices of around £50 or less a bottle. The impact and significance of this series are hard to underestimate. For varied reasons.

Firstly, as Fletch wrote early on, we can be sure about the fact that there‘s a profit model here. If these were ‘one offs’ or very limited outturns there’s a chance that possibly, the producers were going for the stunt factor of releasing something they wouldn’t make a dime out of themselves. But I believe selling something at a loss isn’t allowed (although I think this is only the case in the UK) and, more importantly, seeing how this is already edition 73 (and counting) with each edition numbering hundreds of bottles, we can easily dismiss the idea that Signatory would be losing money on these. Putting thousands and thousands of bottles on the market which wouldn’t cover at the very least all the costs involved, would be not just a very short but very likely also a financially disastrous cul-de-sac.

Secondly, the fact that Signatory has kept this up for two and a half years already, tells us something about the depth of stock of this indie bottler. Of course, being in the business for some forty years, having started out at arguably the peak of the first whisky loch in the 1980’s when whisky was cheap as chips, would mean you were in a good position to build stocks and relationships. Which, in turn helped to build revenue, which, in turn would have been invested into more stock and so on. When it comes to whisky, timing, arguably more so than location, is everything.

Review 1/2 - Earie

Mortlach 11yo, Signatory Vintage 100º Proof Series, Edition #73, 2026, release, Matured in refill hogsheads and first-fill oloroso casks, 57.1% ABV
€58 paid (£50) still some availability

So why indeed would anyone buy anything else than these 100° series at the moment? Only a bloody fool, is probably the answer. Point in case: yours truly. In fact after that 15 yo North British I reviewed here last year, this is only the second bottle from the 100° proof series I picked up.

It’s not that I deliberately ignore or avoid them. In fact I wouldn’t mind taking more of these home, but as it happens, I’m first and foremost an ‘offline’ shopper, and most of my go-to stores don’t have a lot of these on their shelves. Also, rule of thumb suggests Signatory = Sherry cask matured whisky, and by and large that’s not my ‘go to’ style of whisky, making it easier to avoid the bottle neck of solely (or mostly) stocking up with these releases.

But when one of these go-to stores did stock some on the shelves, I felt as if picking up an 11 yo Mortlach, at pretty much cask strength, for less than €60 was a bit of a no-brainer.

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Not the Mortlach I hoped to find, but one I came to really love*

Nose

Sandalwood, cooked fruit, plums and berries. A hint of almost soapy floral notes. Some salinity going into salted and burned caramel notes. Deep, rich but also dark sweetness from toffee apples, leather polish and sweet tobacco. Adding water and it’s like a bag of salted caramel got dunked straight into my glass. Not complaining, mind you…

Palate

Warming arrival, woody. Dried fruit with that toffee apple note. Dark, bitter chocolate with a nice and distinct touch of salinity, moving straight on into salted caramel and treacle territory. After adding some water it takes the heat off the ABV, adding notes of milk chocolate and coffee. It also makes the quite dry mouthfeel even more drying. It’s only on the finish that I get a mere whiff of that signature, meaty-savoury Mortlach character.

The Dregs

Not a classic, typical Mortlach, but a very good one nonetheless. It started off a bit generic even, as it was mainly the casks doing the talking through the first three or four pours. But now, roughly a third into this bottle, things are levelling out. I’m still ‘desperately seeking’ that savoury and meaty ‘Beast of Dufftown' element, and so far it’s playing hide and seek.

Well mostly ‘hide’ as the ‘seek’ bit hasn’t delivered a lot of results. That said, this is getting better and better with each and every pour. Currently a 7/10 might be a bit on the optimistic side, but it’s already well beyond merely ‘good stuff’ and given how this is evolving I’m happy to give this one the benefit of the doubt.
So, yes I do love this whisky, and I’m falling in love more and more with each pour, but, for the sake of argument, let’s assume for a second that I didn’t. Even then, it would be a stretch to call this a disappointment. The price, the delivery, the presentation: everything is absolutely ‘spot on’. And as for taste: that’s arguably the most subjective and debatable variable into the entire equation. From people who’ve bought or tried more of these releases than I have, I often hear that they are very pleased with them, yet seldom ‘blown away’ or flabbergasted. And good whisky at a good price is all it takes for us to pick these up repeatedly.

I don’t think anyone is expecting to be blown away by a £50 bottle of whisky. And those who do, I’ll argue, may simply be demanding too much. On occasion you probably will find yourself in a position where you’ve ‘struck gold’, but let's be honest: striking silver each and every time you pick up one of these bottlings, is a win in its own right.

Score: 7/10

Review 2/2 - Fergus

Mortlach 11yo, Signatory Vintage 100º Proof Series, Edition #73, 2026, release, Matured in refill hogsheads and first-fill oloroso casks, 57.1% ABV
£50 paid, still some availability

If I had to name my top five or six distilleries, Mortlach would almost certainly make the cut.

This isn’t because of the official bottlings, which are average at best, but rather because of the plethora of indy bottlings that I’ve managed to acquire over the years. A favourite among the independent bottlers, Mortlach comes in ex-bourbon matured form and its more typical ex-sherry matured guise. The latter is probably, for me at least, where Mortlach truly comes into its own. Dirty, heavy and often sulphur-laden, Mortlach is a distillery that produces big, characterful whiskies. If you’re a fan of Edradour, or Benromach, and you haven’t yet tried sherry matured Mortlach, then you should definitely track some down.

Needless to say then, when I saw this bottle for a smidgen under £50, I didn’t hesitate to grab it. 14yo whisky at 57.1% abv from a distillery I love seemed like a no-brainer. As I already alluded to, some of the best Mortlachs I’ve had have been sherry matured, although typically they tend to have been matured in PX. This one’s been in Oloroso. Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to let it pass me by, so I took a punt.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Not the dirty sulphur bomb I was hoping for, but solid nevertheless*

Nose

The first thing I noticed when I nosed this whisky is that it is sharp. You know the way that red wine develops a vinegary note when the bottle’s been open for more than a couple of days? That’s the note that I immediately get on the nose. I can tell before I’ve even tasted it that it’ll probably benefit from the addition of water.

A little time in the glass reveals some plum jam, some dark chocolate, some brazil nuts and some cloves, as well as a little toffee. It’s a bit of a cliche to refer to Christmas cake when talking about sherry matured whisky, but that’s what I’m picking up.

It’s a classic sherry forward nose, but not particularly redolent of the dirty, savoury, sulphur infused Mortlachs that typify the distillery.

Palate

The palate is initially quite sharp. That vinegary note is fairly prominent, but fortunately a little water tames it. That being said, there’s a sourness here that I quite like.

Beyond the sour note, I get dark chocolate, brown sugar and specifically, the sugary dregs at the bottom of a strong, black coffee. I also get brazil notes, some salt and some smoked meats. It reminds me of some of the indy Edradours that I’ve tried, which is in no way a bad thing.

The Dregs

This isn’t the old skool, savoury, sulphuric Mortlach that I was hoping it might be, but it’s still very good. It definitely needs a bit of water, but once you get past that slightly vinegary note and tame a little of the sourness, it’s really very engaging.

As I write this it’s June and I’m still getting a lot of enjoyment from this bottle. Give me a cold, Autumnal evening and a nice log fire, and I’m pretty sure that this would be the perfect companion.
If, like me, you’re a Mortlach fan, then this one is definitely worth your time and money.

Score: 7/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. EA

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