Signatory Mortlach 11yo

The Maker

Signatory Vintage is based at the Edradour distillery on the outskirts of Pitlochry in the Highlands. Set up by Andrew Symington and his brother in 1988, it has become one of the best regarded independent bottlers in Scotland, thanks in large part to its relatively new 100% Proof series which is showing the way for the rest of the sector in terms of price and quality.

Apparently this way has proven to be a little upsetting to some, as selling high quality, cask strength whisky at close to £50 ($66US) has exposed the scale of price gouging going on by some other bottlers. In the defence of others, it could be that Signatory has used its reputation and connections to negotiate better deals with distilleries than others can achieve. But either way, what Signatory has been doing the last few years has shown what good can look like, and has won over many new fans because of it.

Alongside the 100% Proof series Signatory has a number of other lines which show scotch at its best, from the un-chillfiltered series through to the cask strength collection which can always be found in rather swanky oblong decanters. Over the years I must have tried over 50 releases from Signatory, and I can honestly say that I have never had a dram I did not enjoy. It is a standard unmatched in my experience so hopefully, this is going to be another good one!

The Expression

Mortlach is a very unusual distillery. Famed for being the first legal distillery in Dufftown, Speyside in 1823, it is perhaps best known now for creating a whisky which is utterly unlike anything else Speyside has come to be known for – in the process earning itself the nickname ‘the Beast of Dufftown’. This uniqueness takes the form of a far more complex texture and savoury flavour which, if you excuse the lack of peat, provides a dram far closer to what you would expect on Islay than across the Speyside and Highland regions. This makes it a rather difficult distillery to get into at first, given the way it challenges your palate in unexpected ways.

If you believe the marketing (and there is an awful lot of marketing out there since Diageo relaunched the brand back in 2014 as Scotch’s ‘Best Kept Secret’ - itself a nod to Mortlach’s niche place among Scotch fans) the reason for this complexity comes from ‘The Way’ devised former owner Dr George Cowie who took control of the distillery back in 1896.

Naturally the marketing bumf does not really get into specifics, but in short ‘The Way’ is derived for the distillery's six stills, all of which are a different and unique shape and size – the last of which is called the Wee Witchie that, as you would expect, is significantly smaller than the previous five. In addition to the stills there is an intricate copper Worm Tub system which runs outside the distillery to use a nearby waterfall for cooling. All this combines to create a 2.81 distillation process that can not be found anywhere else.

This Signatory release was produced in 2012 and matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and oloroso casks for 11 years. It was released in 2024 as edition number 1 of the new Signatory Small Batch range at 48.2%. It goes without saying that this is natural colour and un-chillfiltered. It is also still available online in the UK at £68 ($90US), but from memory I believe I paid a little less than that upon its release.

The Neck Pour

The first hit of this on the nose is of coco-nips followed by a rich dry sherry. Then come bundles of marzipan and strongly roasted coffee beans.

On the palate this is very drinkable. Straight sherry sweetness, with comparatively few ex-bourbon notes initially. Dare I say the dreaded word 'smooth'? Maybe refined is better as this has no sharp edges to it. Instead the whisky is deeply harmonious and moreish. On the finish there are hints of savoury tannins which work to give a rich creamy texture, and even the suggestion of dried dates.

The Body

Like many Mortlach's this has changed a lot while sat open over the last few months. Now there are lots of cranberries on top of the sweetness. These work to create something more like a red wine maturation than mixed sherry and bourbon. The coffee beans and marzipan are still there but the dryer sherry and coco-nibs have receded into the background.

On the palate it is still very harmonious. It has the classic thick oily body of Mortlach, and while the sweetness of the sherry is coming through strongly, there remains a deep umami below it that is almost roast meat like. It is a very odd thing to suggest but what it reminds me of most is a rich lamb shoulder and red wine stew with soy and red berry sauce.

Final Thoughts

I have eked out this bottle over more than a year as it is yet another bottle that Signatory have knocked out of the park. Like most Morlach's this is not in any way a flashy whisky. Instead it is just a very refined, mature whisky of high quality. While a sherried Mortlach is hard to mess up, this is easily one of the best I have had.

As I come to the end of the bottle it is still giving more with time. There is now an additional sourness on the finish to offset that umami, while still delivering on the sherry in the mid-palate. This has been on my too good to share pile for too long, but I have already replaced it with a Tuscan wine matured version (also from Signatory) which is even better!