Olives, The Office and quite surprisingly gin, are all things I tried initially and wasn't completely won over by. They didn't offend me in anyway, indeed it would be quite a spectacle to see an offensive olive - but they didn't instantly bowl me over and make me scream out in jubilation. They didn't seem to be a missing component from my otherwise satisfactory life. To side track; Irn Bru is something that I had never tried until recently, and now I cannot imagine what sick and twisted world I was living in without it. However, I could have gone on living having never tried olives, The Office or gin again, and died happily not knowing what joy they could bring. What I am rather cackhandedly beating at, is that these things required a second try. I now positively adore olives putting them in any meal they can feasibly go with or clash with. I crease up in mirth during any awkward moment in The Office and I drink gin with a religious tenacity. So from all of this I should of course learn to try things at least twice before I give up on them. So the other day I gave the Flora & Fauna Mortlach 16 year old bottling another go. Mortlach as a rule fails to wow me so it took some audaciousness to prioritise this dram over others I perhaps feel would more imminently impress me. Nevertheless I gave it another shot. I'm not sure if it was because the bottle had been open a little longer, or the company I was with at the time or if it was a genuine change of opinion, but this time I was much, much more impressed and who knows maybe Mortlach is a drink that could rival other whiskies I would more readily jump to...
Vimto surprisingly annouced itself first followed, rather pleasingly, by dried apricot that became a part of a fruity sherried character. On a second pass a floral dimension morphed into fresh apricots.
Palate: Stewed plums and plenty of spice give this whisky the body it needs to satisfy.
Finish: Classic sherried whisky here: wood and dried fruits. A fitting conclusion.
Overall: The apricot character was not something I had noticed the first time I tried this whisky, but it is what has made me reconsider Mortlach. Expect a bourbon-finished Mortlach review soon by way of comparison.
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