“Diageo Special Releases 2021” tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 22 June 2022. Whisky #4 Nose: Peaches and cream, beeswax, almond meal, malted milk and red berry compote with vanilla yoghurt. With water the nose becomes less fruit oriented and focuses on grains with honey muffins and Anzac biscuits showing up. The nose is delightfully fragrant throughout and gains weight with water. Palate: An excellent entry with soft, rich toffee, butterscotch, vanilla, candied citrus fruit and crystallized ginger. In the development I found milk chocolate, honey, a faint hint of toasted coconut and some subtle, supple oak tannin. The texture is excellently oily and mouth-coating when neat and it gains an exquisite creaminess with water. Like the nose, the palate develops more weight with dilution and changes slightly with sweet citrus notes appearing, but the profile always remains intact and never drowns. Finish: Medium/long. Toffee, walnuts, dark chocolate. It turned just a fraction dry and earthy in the aftertaste, which was perfect. Mortlach is generally encountered in sherried form and it is a big distillate that can take sherry casking in its stride. It’s often described as having a meaty quality and is affectionately referred to as “The Beast of Dufftown “ by critics and enthusiasts alike. There is, however, another side to Mortlach that we do not often get to see. This is almost exclusively experienced through independent bottlings and is floral, sweet, malty and rich but without the earthy spice and brute force it normally extracts from sherry casks. This is such an expression and Diageo deserve praise for giving us this presentation. The alcohol is very well contained. At 55.9% you would expect an ethanol nip but there was none and I did not taste alcohol at any time. The cask selection and presentation was perfect to showcase this distillate in its most elegant form, featuring sweet fruity aromas and flavours supported by mild malt and subtle spice. It also takes water graciously and is eminently enjoyable at cask strength or diluted to a considerable degree. It appears to be almost incapable of drowning as spicy sweetness keeps emerging to fill the void as the proof is dropped. For me this was one of the highpoints of the tasting, and one of the most enjoyable whiskies I've tasted so far this year. It's a generous, bold and delicious dram that is highly enjoyable right off the bat but shows considerably more complexity as you explore its depths. I noted 4.25 stars on the tasting card, voted for it as my favourite dram of the night (as did several other people) and hastened to purchase a bottle at the end of the event. At $225 on the night it was an unmissable bargain. Highly recommended. “Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)