Mortlach 2013 SV

I hope this 100 proof serie last forever. Imo the best quality/price ratio in the market right now. I will stock up a few different bottles, the future me will thank it and I recommend any whisky aficionado to do the same. Heavy and meaty Mortlach distillate plus good and active oloroso casks, what could go wrong? It needs water and time on the glass, be patient and you will be rewarded.

Quite a pleasant, well-balanced whisky with a fairly wide palette of derivatives, lively, drinkable, in style a kind of average Highland, there is wood, and minerality, and grain, and fruits with herbs, but without bias in any particular direction.

This colleague doesn't seem as "soaked" as others in the series.

For me, this is one of the weaker 100 proof bottlings. Still okay for the asking price, of course, but not a buy for me.

Harmonious, balanced. Well marked by the second fill. Well done. It's more aromatic and flavorful with water.

In tried this dram at Whiskykeller in Bruschied. It's simple but good. Honey, herbs, vanilla, dried fruits and dark chocolate.

Nose: Alcoholic from the very first moment. A hint of freshness and bright fruit undertones, but much is masked by the alcohol. Sherry is present, but only subtly and perceptible at the edges. Overall, the nose is unsettled and lacks harmony. It becomes somewhat more approachable with time in the glass, but it never truly opens up. Taste: The alcohol is immediately noticeable and poorly integrated. Very peppery, sharp, and dry. The sherry adds some structure, but remains far too weak to smooth out the rough edges. The Mortlach character flashes briefly, but is quickly overwhelmed by the alcohol. Strength alone simply isn't enough. Conclusion: It would have been better to leave it in the barrel or use it in blends.

This Mortlach presents a challenging profile, dominated by pickle juice and a surprisingly elusive subtle spicy sherry. It kicks off fresh and fragrant, but then awkwardly lurches into a briny, savoury phase. An abrupt, spicy sherry note then appears in the finish, doing little to resolve the preceding flavors. Ultimately, this is a jarring experience; a struggle rather than a pleasure. Definitely not the finest 100 Proof edition.

Warmer sherry, sandalwood, mixed red fruits, prickly pears, blood oranges, plantains. Juicy pears, with a mint leaf. Dates, quince jam. Vinegar relish and a touch of malt. A slightly timid palate, just some yellow fruits, apricots and lemon, jam, coppery wood. Rapeseed honey and all sorts of spices, ginger, cinnamon, cloves. Powerful, very oaky finish, burnt caramel, pistachio. Nutmeg, salted caramel. Mille-feuille, pastry cream and icing sugar. The nose is not bad, with some varied fruits and beautiful nuances, the finish is powerful and will not leave you indifferent. The palate, on the other hand, seemed correct to me but not remarkable. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2025/02/mortlach-2013-100-proof-edition-34-11-yo.html

Nose — 85/100 Initially quite earthy, with damp earth, orange and vanilla. As it opens, the classic Mortlach savoury character becomes more obvious, with a distinctly meaty quality alongside nuts, malt and further vanilla. Quite characterful and unmistakably more savoury than the Macduff. Palate — 86/100 Dark chocolate and burnt caramel lead, followed by herbal cherry notes, pepper, honey and orange. There is a nice combination of sweetness, bitterness and savoury depth, with the Mortlach spirit showing through rather than being completely dominated by the cask. Finish — 85 Oak and woody notes become more prominent, with chocolate continuing into the finish. There is some slight dryness. Great value proof, sherry cask that delivers . Needs a few drops of water to get the flavours. . Power charged malt, not complex, at a budget price.

Nose: The first note is distinctly blossom honey with a touch of forest honey, noticeable alcohol, pleasant wood notes, mildly tart apple, baked apple, Christmas baking spices, a bit of beeswax, dried apricots, a nice, smooth whisky note (sweet, malty, vanilla, fruity); I added 1 teaspoon of water to 2 cl, as the 100 proof is usually too hot for me undiluted... spicy umami notes at first, a bit more floral afterwards; overall a lovely, pleasant nose that invites exploration. Taste: Decent start, sweet apple, honey, spicy, slightly bitter oak reminiscent of black coffee, warming; unfortunately, the flavor falls short. Finish: short to medium-long, some sweetness, noticeable bitterness lingers Conclusion: overall a reasonable whisky for the price; the highlight is the nose, but the taste remains too one-dimensional and simple.

This confirms once again why I haven't bought a bottle from this series yet. Interchangeable whisky, bottled too young. The refill cask with its woody notes did the vatting some good. But still. Unfortunately, I would prefer a commercial Glenlivet OA in the same price range every evening, because a high alcohol strength is not in itself a quality indicator for me.

Mortlach 2013 Signatory Vintage 100 proof edition #34 *Age statement: 11 years old, including a vintage. *Alcohol percentage at least 46%: yes, 57.1%. *Amount of filtration: stated on the front of the bottle as non-chillfiltered. *Use of caramel coloring {E150a}: stated on the front of the bottle as uncolored. (4 out of 4, regarding craft/integrity presentation and communication). Without water Nose/olfaction: apple, clay, grape, ginger, chocolate mousse. Palate/gustation: honey, lavender, dried berry, BBQ sauce, milk chocolate. Finish/coda: kiwi, macadamia, kefir, grapefruit. With water Nose/olfaction: pine nut, lemon, metal, chestnut mushroom. Palate/gustation: pop rock, gum, red fruit. Finish/coda: lime leaf, chocolate, raspberry. Mortlach is yet another worm tub condensed whisky where I have difficulty noticing the meaty aspects on the palate, I don’t know how I would describe them, but they do produce a beautiful liquid. This is a complex sherried dram that covers all bases, don’t get me wrong though this series of 100 proof bottlings leans often heavy on the sherry, as does it here. But it is a joy to see a Mortlach outside of the Diageo sphere of neutered whiskies.

One of the best places Beautiful full flavor of course cherry but also delicate fleshiness, nice shot

Nice malt, a pleasure to drink. Intense and alcohol well integrated. A little water helps. But Oloroso? Smells and tastes like a great bourbon-aged malt! Am I the only one who thinks that?

Nice to have bought the large sample

Spicy leek soup with herbs. Extra virgin Mortlach 1 oil is there too. Mortlach from Signatory at a proper strength. What's not to like?

Mortlach from Signatory's 100 Proof Edition. This whisky isn't quite as dark as other bottlings in the series and was matured in first- and second-fill Oloroso sherry butts. This gives hope that it won't be quite as wood-dominated as some other Signatory bottlings—although, what's the point of complaining: Sherry bombs can be great too. glen-efze.de

The whisky is okay, but it lacks complexity and personality.

Tried this after enjoying batch 25 of "M" in the same series. Like the "M" it takes a couple of drops of water to open up. The sherry cask influence is less than the Macallan but that is expected as refill casks have been used here. With an extremely robust spirit like Mortlach, the balance with this cask type is good. It's fairly straightforward meaty sherried Mortlach with no nasty surprises. Nothing more, nothing less. Again, an absolute winner at the price point. Recommended as a reliable winter pour.

I've been looking forward to this one for a long time. Mortlach as 100 proof was a must-buy for me.

Beautiful golden yellow color. The whisky sticks nicely to the glass. Surprisingly fresh and fruity. Due to the intensity I was inclined to give the whisky 87 points, however it lacks complexity and age in my opinion.

I have to admit that it was hard to connect with this whisky at first. Moreover, in the first tasting it seemed to be simple and dull. It took me a few more attempts to start liking the good texture, but the casks still left the impression of an average quality. However the whisky improves a lot by adding some water. It allowed me to raise the score by 1-2 points, but still not enough to start thinking about buying the full bottle

aroma: pear, red apple, dried apricots, flowers, light sherry, vanilla, malt, shortcrust pastry, honey cornflakes, citrus, plums, banana, nuts, broth? Lots of wood 86 Taste: sweetish, lots of bitter notes, young sharp wood, orange or apple seeds, old prunes, apples, vanilla, plums, tobacco, pear, flakes 85.5 not bad finish: lots of wood, vanilla, sugar syrup, pear, apples, varnish? 85 not in balance, but normal

Mortlach 2013, Aged 11 Years, Edition 34, 57.1%, Signatory 100 Proof, SMSW. 60ml sample from WhiskySite, consumed April 2025. Dark orange. Aroma is chalky with menthol and pork crackling vibes. Fairly airy, muted but not closed. Later on there’s some green apple and raspberry esters. Body is pretty heavyweight – oily. Taste is concentrated and … strange. It carries very little heat and very little flavour. Drinks with good body but just delivers a faint touch of toffee sweetness followed by a little ethanol sharpness and then it’s gone on the palate. Lingering subtle flavours of seaweed and dark chocolate. Might be slightly cask-swamped, which often makes whiskies seem gloopy and flavourless in my book. Perhaps water will help… Down to around 48% I get some orange-infused dark chocolate on the aroma. Body is less oily but still moderately oily. Taste now has candyfloss-like esters, some oak bitterness shows up. No, it’s not a particularly good dram, but it’s okay. 3.25/78

Nose: Wood and chocolate. Typical sherry aromas. Palate: Dark fruits, chocolate, easy to drink despite the 57.1% alcohol. Well integrated. Finish: Medium to long. The chocolate flavor lingers. A whisky that suits my taste exactly.

Release number 34 in the 100 Proof Edition series from merchant Signatory Vintage. Mortlach's spirits were matured in first- and second-fill sherry vats for 11 years and bottled at cask strength of 100 British proof without filtration or added color. Nose 22: A rich, vibrant, slightly sharp, caramel-dried fruit, slightly sulfurous aroma. Caramel, baked apple with cinnamon and honey, dried apricots, raisins, menthol notes, match sulfur, orange peel, light dustiness, cloves, white pepper, sweet spices, bright tannins. Palate: a fiery, bright, rich, peppery-dried-fruity flavor. Burnt caramel, hazelnuts, dried apricots, raisins, dried orange peel, chocolate with raisins, black pepper, baking spices, furniture varnish, wet wood. Finish: Warming, vibrant, nutty, fruity with sweet spices and tannins. Balance: a bright, rich, powerful, and assertive whisky at high strength. Not overly complex, comprehensive, or memorable, but worth every penny. N22, P21, F21, B21

artificial orange, orange candy, lots of licorice confectionary and young oloroso, nice texture, thick and oily mouthfeel, bit boozy with something like a mixture of petroleum jelly, terpentin and exhaust fumes too sweet for my taste, would guess american oak sherry cask, would have loved to see more of Mortlach's distillery character, but overall quite solid

Not overly complex, but with a little water, quite decent for the price. Air is especially good for him. I opened my bottle in autumn 2025, and the last third of the bottle, which had been open for several months, was noticeably better.

EDIT: I made a classic mistake by judging cask strength ncf, nca whisky too early. I changed points and notes: Still not very good single malt, but it's building up after some oxidization and adding more water. Sweet and sharp tones are there and some blended whisky qualities too. I have tasted 2-3 of these Signatory 100 proof series whiskies. Basicly they are good stuff but not even nearly as good as Unchillfiltered or CS series bottlings 5-10 years ago. Sadly, over all Signatory quality of bottlings are going down.

Initially pickled and slightly metallic, but these notes subside with time (and water) in the glass. A dropping fill level in the bottle does the rest.

Nos: coś sztucznego, jak plastik, trochę sherry, lekko orzechowe ale bardziej chemiczne, raczej nie jest to zachęcające Smak: lekka chemiczność, lekko orzechowe, dość sztuczne. Niczym nie urzeka. Finish: lekko pikantny, średnio długi

Fruity, mandarin, orange, raspberry, malt, dark honey, a hint of menthol, spicy, a little pepper

Nase: Süß, würzig, Kirsche, rote Trockenfrüchte, Gewürze, Eiche, etwas herbe Schokolade | Geschmack: Süß, würzige Eiche, Gewürze, Kirsche, rote Trockenfrüchte | Abgang: Mittellang; süße Noten, etwas Kirsche, etwas rote Trockenfrüchte und Eiche bleiben. | Fazit: Die Nase beginnt intensiv. Süße und würzige Noten mit viel Kirsche gibt es anfangs. Dazu kommen rote Trockenfrüchte, Gewürze und Eiche. Ein Hauch herbe Schokolade ist ebenfalls noch da. Der Geschmack beginnt intensiv, süß und mit würziger Eiche. Gewürze, Kirsche und rote Trockenfrüchte komme dann. Ein guter und intensiver Whisky. Das Fass hat ordentlich Einfluss gehabt. Es gibt viel Kirsche und Gewürze. Fehlnoten habe ich keine. Die 100 Proof geben dem Whisky ordentlich Kraft. | 86 Punkte

A strong, classic Sherry-Mortlach: dense, spicy, with dark fruit, honey sweetness, umami notes and noticeable alcohol strength.