Nose: Rich and sweet, like Sugar Frosties (a tooth-decaying breakfast cereal for kiddies). Iced doughnuts, sweet marmalade, apricots, ginger snap biscuits, tangellos and mandarin orange. It's a melange of warm cereal sweetness and fruity malt that trips the light fantastic with fleet-footed aplomb, avoiding any cloying notes. Alongside the fruity notes there are savory, meaty and vegetal aromas and a very nice medium sherry influence - just a hint. What a lovely nose! Palate: A perfectly balanced arrival, treading a taught high-wire spanning sweetness and spiciness with the skill of a master aerialist. Ginger, orange, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, and a bushel of dried fruits. Just wonderful. Underneath is a hearty lamb tagine, simmering in lemon and apricot slices. Drool. YES! This is what Mortlach should taste like. A touch drying, but in the most adorable manner imaginable. A slight chocolaty dry malt hint that pinches everything together, like a neat Cornish pasty. The texture is perfection - so precisely oily that it does not seem to be so. Finish: Medium/long, it flows on from the development and fades gloriously into a vibrant sunset. There's even a little touch of mustard spice in the tail. You will not realize how long this finish is, the aftertaste is so subtle, I guarantee. I've discussed this whisky with my mate from across "the ditch", Soba45, of late so I thought it was time for a proper review. This whisky has incredible presence and authority, but is simultaneously soft and appealing. For me it is the embodiment of David Gilmour's guitar playing, where the silence means as much as the notes. Stately and poised, with class, balls, authority and verve. That's the blues defined. What a great introduction to single malts this would be for a newcomer. I weep for those who will never experience it - it is like Springbank 10, but with sophistication and élan. If you want to know the deal with all the hype surrounding Mortlach and why old whisky geeks keep blathering on about it - try this whisky. It's a constantly produced licensed bottling, so almost a core range product. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)