Tasted at Blair Athol Distillery Whisky Bar, 25 April 2024 Nose: A big, expansive nose that showcases caramel, malt, dried fruits, woody aromas and hints of baking spices. It’s like fruitcake, but not as aromatic as Christmas cake. Adding water makes it softer and quite plush, less intense but still full and satisfying. There is a puff of ashen smoke in the background. Palate: The arrival is balanced between sweet fruits and spices and it has good body that you immediately notice. Malty notes come forward on the mid-palate along with clove, cinnamon and allspice but these are soft and warm, not spiky. With water the palate, like the nose, becomes considerably sweeter with caramel, dried dates, strawberries and toffee dominating. It has that elusive meaty depth of all Mortlach whiskies. Finish: Medium/Long. The late palate spices segue into to lingering chocolate-covered toffee sweetness. Water shortens the finish but does not otherwise change or spoil it. I swore that I’d never engage with the Diageo GoT franchise tie-in whiskies, it being such a blatant marketing exercise. I had the feeling at the time that even Diageo were a bit blasé about the whole thing, given that some of the series releases were nothing more than core-range expressions in special labels. Eventually, I did try a taste of the vile Johnnie Walker “White Walker” blend at a pop-up stall and that was enough to confirm my suspicions so I avoided the rest of the series. However after the initial eight expressions Diageo released this final ninth installment, which received widespread approval. In summary it is a very agreeable whisky and probably the pinnacle of the franchise tie-ins. You can still find this in some stores and via online sellers, but it will be overpriced and poor value. Buy the Gordon and Macphail Mortlach 15 year old Official Label bottling instead. It will be half the price, easier to find and a better whisky all round. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)