Mortlach Midnight Dusk - Diageo Special Releases (2024)
Let's forget the marketing blah-blah from Diageo for a moment - Mortlach is actually a damn good distillery. The unusual 2.81-fold distillation usually turns boring Speyside fare into complex, meaty whiskies. The "Beast of Dufftown" deserves respect. But with the Midnight Dusk, someone obviously forgot to pass this memo on.
The panel
Mean 77.0 · spread 4
Value for money 0/5
- Distillery
- Mortlach
- Type
- Single Malt
- Region
- Speyside
- Country
- Scotland
- Strength
- 57.5% ABV
- Character
- rich
Tasting
Nose
Okay, hats off - Mortlach has played all the cards right here. A lot of spices hit you straight away, followed by a delicate hint of citrus and apricot, which really makes you want more. The density of flavours is impressive: toffee, milk chocolate and a hint of leather create complexity. Cappuccino joins in, and then - bang - black pepper, which smells suspiciously like Szechuan pepper. This is Speyside with eggs!
Palate
And then you take the first sip and think: "Wait a minute, that's it?" The oily texture is still okay, nougat tries to save what can be saved and the black pepper fights on bravely. A slight acidity brings some life into play, and if you're really imaginative, you might find a hint of fig.
Finish
Pleasant oak - nothing more, nothing less. Still spicy, medium length, baking cocoa and baking powder. Sounds solid? It is solid. But "solid" is not what you expect from a premium release.
Verdicts
Marcel
The Mortlach Midnight Dusk shows that even a 'Beast of Dufftown' can falter – the nose promises a lot, but the palate delivers only half-heartedly. For the price, I would have expected significantly more character and drinking pleasure; otherwise, it remains just a solid but interchangeable Speyside representative.
Sascha
Structurally, the Midnight Dusk is well-built, with clear spice and fruit notes, but the balance and complexity don’t reach the level one expects from a Special Release. The value for money simply isn’t justified here, as other bottlings offer considerably more depth and finesse.
What it is worth
We do not yet hold bottle-level auction results — that sits behind Whisky Hunter’s authenticated feed. What follows is the market for Mortlach as a whole, which sets the weather for this bottling without pricing it.
Latest mean bid £171 across 143 lots · 2024-08