Mortlach Archives - More Drams, Less Drama

No Age Declared Blended Malt Masam

14th March 202513th March 2025Coldorak

Silvano Samaroli was a pioneering figure in the world of whisky and spirits, known for his groundbreaking contributions to independent bottling and blending. Starting in the 1960s, he selected exceptional casks of Scotch whisky based on their unique character and quality, rather than age or prestige. His bottlings became highly sought after by connoisseurs, and his uncompromising standards set new benchmarks in the industry. Samaroli’s legacy includes his role as an educator and his influence on the rise of independent bottlers. Today, he is remembered as a visionary whose dedication to craftsmanship continues to inspire new generations of enthusiasts and professionals. We review a blended malt he created, but that was bottled by his widow a few years after his death, the No Age Declared Blended Malt Masam.

Mortlach 15-Year-Old Gordon & Macphail (1970s & 2015)

12th March 202412th March 2024Coldorak

Reflecting on my initial discussion of Mortlach from three years prior (time flies!), I recall mentioning the need to delve into their 2.81 distillation process, potentially following an overview of distillation itself. It seems that slipped my mind! Nevertheless, I’ll share some insights into their distillation method shortly. Meanwhile, let’s juxtapose two iterations of Mortlach’s 15-year-old, bottled by Gordon & Macphail: a vintage edition from the 1970s and a more recent release from 2015.

Mortlach 2002 Hidden Spirits

13th December 202113th December 2021Coldorak

We’re back to a Hidden Spirits bottling, this time with the Beast of Dufftown: Mortlach. Founded in 1823 by James Findlater, Donald Mackintosh and Alex Gordon, probably on the site of an older illicit distillation, it is the oldest of the several distilleries located at Dufftown. They use a complicated distillation process that they advertise as 2.81 distillations, but I’ll explain that on a future article about Mortlach, and maybe after I’ve written a post about distillation for the All about whisky section. For now, let’s just say that it’s owned, like many other distilleries, by Diageo. You cannot visit it except usually during the Spirit of Speyside Festival, and it’s known for its heavy and meaty character. But I’m still, for now, on my almost everyday reviews from my advent calendar (I know, I missed a couple ones). So it’ll be a short article, let’s go directly to review the 13th dram for the calendar: a Mortlach 2002 bottled by Hidden Spirits.