The Mortlach 1971 Diageo Special Releases 2004 is a rare and highly sought-after whisky from the Mortlach Distillery, one of the most underrated Speyside distilleries. This limited edition bottling was released in 2004 as part of Diageo's "Superpremium" series, with only 2160 bottles produced. The whisky was matured for 32 years in ex-bourbon casks, resulting in a complex and robust flavor profile that showcases Mortlach's distinctive distillation process. Known for its gutsy, earthy, and beefy new make, Mortlach uses a unique distillation method involving three wash and three spirit stills, which minimizes copper contact and creates a powerfully flavored, deliberately sulphury spirit. The 1971 Mortlach is a natural cask strength expression, bottled at 50.1% ABV. Despite its age, it boasts a freshness that belies its 32 years. The distillery's use of worm tub condensers adds to its robust and complex character. As the original Dufftown malt, Mortlach offers a firm, elegant, and long-finishing whisky that is highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts alike. This expression is the perfect after-dinner malt, making it an ideal addition to any whisky collection. In reviews, the Mortlach 1971 has been described as a showcase of the old Highland style, focusing on floral and waxy notes. The nose is rich with barley sugars, fruits, honeys, waxes, oils, and spices. The taste is complex, featuring spices like peppers, ginger, and nutmeg, alongside fruits such as banana, coconut, and papaya, all balanced with caramel and honey. The finish is long and warming, with peppery notes and a touch of tobacco. Overall, the Mortlach 1971 is a truly exceptional whisky, highly prized for its robust and complex flavor profile and its ability to maintain balance and elegance through the years.
This whisky is unique due to its 32-year maturation in ex-bourbon casks, its natural cask strength of 50.1% ABV, and its limited edition release with only 2160 bottles produced. Additionally, Mortlach's distinctive distillation process and use of worm tub condensers contribute to its robust and complex flavor profile.
The flavor profile includes a rich combination of barley sugars, fruits, honeys, waxes, oils, spices, and firm but never dominating wooden notes. The taste is complex with spices, fruits, caramel, and honey, while the finish is warming and peppery with a touch of tobacco.
While some reviewers suggest that a few drops of water can help open up the flavors, others find that water flattens both the nose and taste. It's recommended to experiment to find your preferred taste experience.
The Mortlach 1971 Diageo Special Releases 2004 is one of my favorite whiskies. Despite its age, it feels fresh and vibrant, showcasing the unique distillery character of Mortlach. The balanced complexity, from its floral nose to its spicy and fruity palate, and the long warming finish, make it a truly exceptional whisky. If it were more affordable, I'd always keep a bottle on my table.
Spirit Radar is my daily tool that become crucial for my busines. As an independent bottler I follow my bottles (The Colours of Rum) on various e-commerce sites. On the other hand, a spirits' collector I use Spirit Radar to chase bottles I want to buy or sell. I also use "my collection" tool to value my own bottles. Spirit Radar become really useful and I can see the team works systematically to improve the app. I will surely remain loyal user.
CEO Wealth Solutions SA
We have used Spirit Radar since the very beginning. Both in our business and for private use. It is a fantastic tool to keep you updated in the market. It can be very time consuming to find an exact bottle somewhere in the world, but with Spirit Radar, you can get that information within seconds. We have also used it when we need to keep track of our bottles and see what our customers wants. Besides that, its an interesting platform, when you want to explore the rum world, or search for bottles that could be really hard to find in the normal stores. It is very easy and intuitive to use.
Mastertaster at Romdeluxe
Spirit Radar gathers as much information and data as possible about each bottle. We have collected historical offers and auctions for each bottle, sometimes dating back to 2012.
We constantly check every site for new and updated offers. When a bottle becomes in stock, we know it within minutes.
We use all this data to compute the market value of each bottle. As a result, you can see the price trend of each bottle and find the best place to buy it.
In addition, we constantly expand our database: we add new bottles, online stores, and auction portals. Find new releases and rare bottles for the best prices.
Spirit Radar allows you to add bottles to your watch list. When we find a bottle from your watch list in stock, we will send you a notification. You can also set a maximum price you are willing to pay, and we will ignore all more expensive offers.
We check every site multiple times a day, the hottest bottles even every few minutes. You will be one of the first to know when a bottle becomes available to buy.
When we find an auction of a bottle you watch, we will notify you before it ends. You can disable all auction-related notifications or disable them for individual bottles.
Do you know the current value of your collection? And how has it grown during the last 30 days? Spirit Radar makes it simple. Just add bottles to your collection and enter purchase prices.
Every day, you'll get an updated value of your collection and how much you gained since you purchased the bottles. These statistics are provided for your entire collection, as well as for individual bottles.
Security is our top priority. Only you can see your collection and statistics.