Mortlach - Little Brown Dog - "Deployment 10"

19 Year Old - Oloroso Hogshead - 55.9% ABV

X! 10! Decem! Sawbuck! The tenth release for the SBWAS!

Quite an achievement if I do say so myself. I never thought I'd get to such heady heights for group releases. The term Humbling doesn't do it justice.

I'd been thinking about what to do for such a landmark release. Having been previously been lucky enough to bottle a single cask Macallan, a 27yr-old GlenDronach, the lovely chaps at GlenAllachie had offered to do 2 casks, an Arran was bottled, and a bunch of beautiful Indie bottlers had thrown their keys in the bowl to join in the fun. Who should I collaborate with this time?

Little Brown Dog is an Indie Bottler that I've been following ever since they started and I absolutely love their zest for life and the industry. I'd had my eye on them for a long time to work with.

They also do insanely bad videos that will have you spitting your coffee out across the floor with laughter.

A quick call with Andrew at LBD, and he was off looking for something special like a crazed Jack Russell on the hunt on a farm. And did he ever find a little gem in the chaos - namely a Hogshead full of vintage magical Mortlach. Only 226 bottles were yielded from this cask, so it was going to be a race for people to get one. And a race it was. 3.5 hours after official release, it was sold out. Yikes.

Coming in at a natural strength of 55.9%, with a thick & heady sherried meatiness, this was an absolute bullseye for such a special release.

Appearance: Dark amber honey

Nose: Melted butter dropped on a leather chair, flat cola, a freshly opened pack of nuts & raisins, warmed Highland toffee that’s been in your pocket, creamy maltiness, blackcurrant jam.

Palate: Heady and sweet. Big notes of deep, heavy fleshy fruit that’s almost over-ripe blossom in the mouth. Oily sherried sweetness coats the tongue and the note of flat cola that was on the nose appears to say “ta da!”

Finish: Ludicrously long and warming with notes of warm toffee sauce and a flash of espresso

Conclusion: For my 10th release, I wanted something special. So a heavenly sherried & meaty Mortlach was on the cards. Nuff said.

More about Little Brown Dog Spirits here

More about Mortlach here

And don't forget Royal Mile Whiskies! here