Mortlach 1993 25 Year (Adelphi)

Phenomenal. Full of dried and tropical fruits, chocolate, mint, and flowers plus hints of the meaty Mortlach character. Dave Broom knew what he was doing when he gave this a 95. Nose: Oranges, Papayas, Mangoes, Milk Chocolate, Leather, Tobacco, Oranges, Peaches, Toffee, Peppermint Candy Canes, Honey, Sultanas, Beef, Pork, Almonds, Christmas Cakes, Lavender, Bananas, Spearmint, Beeswax Palate: Raisins, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cherries, Dates, Figs, Prunes, Dark Chocolate, Grapefruits, Honey, Banana Bread, Walnuts, Brown Butter Cake, Hazlenuts, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Beef, Oranges, Maple Syrup Finish: Raisins, Milk Chocolate, Grilled Pineapples, Peppermint, Licorice, Red Apples, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Chili, Figs, Dates, Mangoes, Papayas

Dramfest 2020. Tis a sign of the amazing range of drams that whilst a great one it didn't make it to the top 10. My palate was a bit stuffed though so who knows another day another setting maybe higher. It wasn't just me who thought the same though as 2 other mates rated some of the younger Alephi stuff higher...

The thing with professional whiskey reviewers is that you never know where their allegiances lie. And by “professional “, I mean they still have a day job, but blog off-hours. You never know if they were swayed by a couple of free pours, or if they truly are telling like it is. The other thing with them is you have no idea if their taste matches yours. You might like a schmear of ghost pepper hot sauce in your pasta, and the reviewer is averse to a spice level above green bell peppers. Anyhow...one of the ones I do follow regularly is Dave Broom. When he gave this 95 points ( a damn rarity), it sure as hell got me to notice. I can’t find many 95 pointers from him. Of course, law of demand took hold: your ability to get the bottle is inversely proportionate to the square of how hyped it is by a famous reviewer. I was lucky to score a bottle, because literally a minute later, it was listed as sold out. This is simply amazing...I’d say easily now in my top 5 all time. Elegant, layers of flavor coming at you, starting with melted milk chocolate, then dark berries, oranges and finally burnt leather. If you see this one, grab it. Honestly...I’d say the only ones I can remember liking more than this are the Brora and Yamazaki 18. Then again, a fraction of their price too.