So far, my short exploration into Mortlach has been quite incredible and to finish this run is a sample from @Richard-ModernDrinking of this 25 year old bottled by Gordon and Macphail that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while. The nose starts with floral grassy notes and light sherry influence with Raisinette candy then light sulfur and minerality that fade but remain in the background of blood oranges and baked apples followed by a light spice of white pepper and dusty leather-bound books with light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with sherry influence of musty grapes, high percentage dark chocolate and fresh figs followed by some vanilla blossom floral notes then a light sulfur and minerality that gracefully transitions to citrus fruits of blood oranges and apple peel leading to a light spice of white pepper, cloves and dusty leather-bound books with light ethanol burn. The finish is long with light sherry sulfur, dark chocolate, fresh figs, blood oranges, dunnage floors, and dusty leather-bound books that lingers for minutes. This is simply a stunning whisky with an incredible balance of those rich sherry notes with some medium citrus, light florals, minerality and very old oak that flows harmoniously together creating a masterpiece of liquid art. I was very close to giving this a 5, but in a side by side comparison to my favorite Hazelburn 13(2020), the flavors were a bit more subdued, likely due to the lower ABV causing me to lower my rating slightly. On a quick google search, it appears that these are still widely available for under $250 which is surprising for the quality and age considering that’s nearly the same price if not less than the Mortlach 20 year and this is by far superior to the 20 year. I’ll have to add it to my whisky shopping list for next time I place an order and another huge thank you to @Richard-ModernDrinking for the generous pour of this gem.