Mortlach The Lure of the Blood Moon (2022 Special Release)

Nose: Bright cereal notes (like corn flakes?), grappa or plum eau-de-vie, sour cherries, green apples. Adding water softens it, mainly by reducing the sharp alcohol, allowing bready, herbal aromas to emerge – similar to warm fresh white rolls with herb butter. Palate: A sweet, spicy, and fruity arrival with cherries, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. This intensity subsides, revealing red wine, cranberries, raspberries, and caramel, continuing to a sweetness that is enhanced by a splash of water. Diluting to around 50% abv or less emphasizes sweet malt and creates a cherry jam character. The texture is smooth and creamy when diluted. Finish: Medium to long. Red fruits, the sweetness turns slightly drying and herbal in the aftertaste. A fine, albeit somewhat unusual, Mortlach. I've never experienced it quite like this or with such varied cask influence, but I enjoyed it. It possesses the distillate's signature meatiness but isn't a typical straightforward sherry-cask maturation. Worth trying if you're a fan of the distillery, though perhaps challenging for newcomers. Additionally, the pricing for a non-age-statement whisky seems quite high. The prior year's Mortlach Special Release (which I preferred) was a declared 13 year old and cost half as much, and is still available at that price, making this one difficult to recommend. 'Very Good': 85/100 (4 stars).

The nose has notes of spiced red fruit. The body is medium-thick, and the palate is intensely spicy. It has a long, spicy finish. Wonderful.