Taste: Pastille Bouquet 1998 Wemyss Malts
Here's another dram from the recent Wemyss Twitter event I participated in last week. On the night there were 4 drams in total with things kicking off with the new Lord Elcho blend. This was an enticing start to proceedings before we reached the 2nd dram of the evening, which was one of the exclusive Wemyss single cask releases.
Wemyss Malts only bottle single cask releases they believe are deserving of such an honour. They christen each cask with a name that summaries the experience within each bottle - think along the same lines as the Scottish Malt Society tasting panel. Thankfully Wemyss tend to keep their names a little more evocative than outlandish!
This release was christened Pastille Bouquet already summarising what awaited us on the night. The cask is from the highly respected Mortlach distillery that is about to be transformed into a premium malt by the powers that be at Diageo. The distillery has been well supported by independent bottlers over the years (more than its owner) gathering a solid fanbase, however if its marketing upscaling does prove successful, then these independent releases will become more scarce.
Mortlach is a chameleon of a distillery; you're never quite sure what to expect and the journey you're set to experience. There are some real shadowy sherry releases out there for Mortlach and most associate that specific cask choice with the distillery. Pastille bouquet from its name alone promises to be a little different.
Distillery: Mortlach
Distilled: 1998
Bottled: 2013 (so approximately 15 years old)
Strength: 46%
Edition of: 325 bottles
Price: expect to pay around £66
Colour: straw
Aroma: a fruit salad with a reliance on fresh apples and pineapple chunks, scattered with crushed almonds. A couple of drops of water removes the immediate citrus hit. The dram becomes more deceptive, ingruiging, floral notes almost a men's aftershave note - in a good way. Parma violets was a good shout during the tasting here and other old boiled sweeties from yesteryear. A real feminine nose, not your usual Mortlach that's for sure and well christened by Wemyss.
Taste: Nose seems the star for me of this one. Not as complex on the palate some pear drops keeping with the confectionary theme. Dark chocolate with lime flourishes, grapefruit and a nutty element. A real juxtaposition to quote @whiskylassie with a Irn Bru and a zingy peppery note as the finish.
A great nosing dram; best of the night for me in the face of some fierce competition. Considering the limitations of the twitter event, I really believe this is a dram that can be explored over half a bottle and still provide new dimensions. That's Mortlach in a nutshell really and the sign of a lovely single cask release.