Mature Single Malt Opportunity of the Year – Incredible Prices and Unbelievable Finds at K&L California – Scotch Whisky News
Exclusive Availability on Not to be Missed Mature Single Malts
1995 Ben Nevis 21 Year Old Faultline Bourbon Hogshead ($89.99) – At far less than what you’d normally expect to pay for a single malt with a 21 year age statement of this quality, this Ben Nevis is an outstanding value that’s sure to grab the attention of many a Scotch drinker. The bulk of Ben Nevis finds its way to the Asian market, so bringing a bottling this well-composed and delicious stateside is an absolute boon. Rambunctious, lively, and fresh this stunning 21-year shows plenty of malt, fruit, sea salt, and honeyed tones. It’s so delcious, you’ll find it hard to put your glass down. At this price, a purchase of multiples just makes sense.
1995 Mortlach 22 Year Old Faultline Sherry Butt ($119.99) – With 18-year versions of Mortlach selling at $250 and above, the value here is incontestable. Like the Ben Nevis, Mortlach is increasingly hard to find in the States, which is a crying shame as they are making some of the most excting single malts in the market today. For sherry heads, this glorious 22-year version is right on the money as its sweet caramel, nut, and spice notes take center stage. Mortlach is known for its brawny and burly approach, but this version is remarkably approachable. It’s a kinder, gentler Mortlach that’s sure to appeal to a very wide audience. At a price that’s just south of $120, we expect the beauty to move at a very fast clip indeed.
1989 Mortlach 28 Year Old Faultline Sherry Hogshead ($149.99) – Another blockbuster value that might strike you as too good to be true. A bottle of this age and pedigee would normally sell in the $300 to $500 range, making the $149.99 price tag here an absolute steal. A true-to-style Mortlach, it has all the robust, beefy flavors one has come to expect from this historic distillery. But for all its power, it remains remarkably inviting. Braised meats, Oloroso, wood, and peppery spice join in perfect unison making for an experience that is at once hedonistic and cerebral. It just might be the finest Mortlach we have had to date.
When we created the Faultline program, we were one of the only retailers in the States scouring Scotland’s warehouses to find hidden gems for our loyal customers. We realized early that if we couldn’t be there to pick among the thousands of options, finding the true legends would be little more than a game of chance. We visited nearly every bottler in Scotland to examine their wares and negotiate pricing, but now the days of finding a hidden gem in some far flung shed seem numbered. While there’s still plenty of whisky out there, increasing world demand, supplier savvy, and general market maturation have limited our access. We’re still able to offer wonderful casks from our great suppliers – Old Particular, Old Malt Cask, Sovereign, Hepburn’s Choice, etc. – but finding casks free to bottle under our own label has been next to impossible.
That’s why these casks are so special. Faultline represents the very best of what we have to offer for your dollar. It’s all about providing value for our loyal customers and doing so in a unique and interesting way. These casks were bottled in partnership with Alexander Murray, a small California based bottler who is famous for doing BIG store brands. These are some of their first Cask Strength Single Casks and represent a new phase in our relationship with the company, whose standard business model only allows us limited opportunity.
The fanciful and colorful labels were designed by Ivan Diaz, our former Spanish wine specialist in Los Angeles, who’s moved on to pursue his creative passions.
We’re working on providing more Faultline, but we’re not sure we’ll ever be able to provide value quite like this again.
This incredible collaboration between Alexander Murray and K&L is part of the first batch of Faultline casks we’ve had in years. There are only a couple of factors that qualify a cask for inclusion in this special program. The casks must be absolutely exceptional and they must represent the best possible value for our customers. As the whisky boom has continued to explode across the world, fewer sources are available and scarcity means higher prices. The great casks we find are less likely to be made available to us under our own brand as our suppliers want credit for great casks under their own labels. That’s why this find is so incredible. Ben Nevis is an unbelievably good distillery that is unfortunately NOT regularly available in the US. Located on the western coast of Scotland in the town of Fort Williams, they’re owners are Japanese, which means that’s where the whisky goes. This gorgeous old hogshead filled once previously was fashioned from American oak and shows all the great texture and depth we’d expect from Ben Nevis, although with none of the saltpeter or sulfur that is sometimes present in their heady distillate. Pungent and almost extreme, the nose is a concentrated particle beam of fruit and malt flavor. This cask is all about freshness, maturity and balance. While it may not be as showy as the others on paper, the absolute purity of the aromatics and the unrelenting energy of this malt will leave a lasting impression on anyone lucky enough to procure one.
David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 25, 2018
I might have to count this weird and wonderful Ben Nevis as my personal favorite of the new Faultline casks. Ben Nevis is a cool little distillery that we have almost not working relationship with. The vast majority of their malt gets blended into Japanese whisky – sounds stupid, but it’s true. It’s a fab malt driven style, that always has this funky little backbone but as it ages the sulfur can take over or take a back seat. That’s part of why Nevis does so well in sherry, the sweet flavors of the sherry balance out the funk – but this little hoggie is naked Nevis and I love it. The nose is an absolute dream. Tangerine, fudge, freshly malted barley, oolong, and an odd sort of wonderful red fruit quality that’s pungent but not overly perfumed. There’s something raw about it, but equally inviting. On the palate the sweet malt is absolutely astounding. Creamy vanilla, rich grain, crunchy fruit all held together with this subtle brackishness. There’s no doubt this will be the sleeper of the three current Faultlines, since it lacks the obvious credentials of the other three, but this will turn on the malt geeks once they taste it. One for those who like something a bit more spirit driven.
Alex Schroeder | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 25, 2018
Ben Nevis is a coastal Highland distillery owned by Nikka since 1989. This particular cask is a second fill bourbon cask, giving you an ultimately focused, classic, and exceptionally good Highland malt for a great price. On the nose it has creamy baked cereals, caramel, and a hint of tropical fruits with underlying floral notes. On the palate it is fresh and light with great integration of creamy malt flavor with hints of tropical fruits like banana and citrus. In my opinion this is the best of the Faultlines for the money.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 21, 2018
The nose on this single cask selection is seductive and inviting with pretty beeswax, honey, and floral notes. There are no smoky aromas or flavors. It is rich and soft with complex and subtle malt and fruit components. There is a tongue coating finish. It it not big and full, but medium bodied. Of the current Faultline selections this is the most elegant.
Andrew Stevens | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 20, 2018
This is only my second chance to try a Ben Nevis seeing as they never come into the US, and this bottle impressed me as much as the last one maybe even more. Lovely vanilla and white stone fruit on the nose with hints of orange and oak. The palate is balanced and elegant with layers of vanilla, candied fruit, saline, and spice notes. On the finish creeps in earthy grain notes that combine with a touch of salt that lead to a long and surprisingly gristly finish. Delicious whisky, and with absolutely gorgeous label art this is one to snag immediately.
Anthony Russo | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 16, 2018
Ohhh yes. Definitely smells like a super old bourbon. Butterscotch, toffee, and caramel all melt together with a touch a vanilla. The Ben Nevis “freshness” and “fruitiness” really comes through with a bit of air. The classic scotch whisky flavor is much more apparent on the palate. This is the bottle for bourbon lovers who want to branch out a touch or scotch fans who want to try something off the beaten path.
We almost never see Mortlach available for sale by the cask in Scotland. If we do it’s almost certainly in a third or fourth fill barrel and almost certainly young and expensive. Even the underwhelming NAS bottling from the distillery still costs $100. Why is it so expensive and hard to get? That answer starts with a J and ends with a Walker. There’s just too much money in that special blend to let these casks out of the system. When they do make it out, there’s usually a reason. On the rarest of occasion, likely the result some fortuitous clerical error or bad bets by a London executive, we might happen across something like this. Two decades old Mortlach always raises eyebrows around here. Tell me it’s been aged in a fresh sherry butt, can be sold for around $100, and tastes amazing? I’m looking like a Vince McMahon Reaction meme -almost a wrestling reference. Even more exciting is that truly is Mortlach for the masses. Sometimes the beefy gnarly quality of the distillery, the result of an unusual multi-still distillation process, can overwhelm the uninitiated. This casks, however, is so fun and forgiving with all that wonderful Mortlach meat playing second fiddle to the dense sherry and dark malt flavors. There’s no question that this is going to be the cask, among all our recent Faultline releases to consider stocking deep. It’s very unlikely that we’ll ever see value and quality converging quite like this again. Let’s all pray that we can keep pulling casks this good.
David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 25, 2018
If someone is asking me which of the new Faultlines I’d jump on – I’m always going to point them to this outrageous butt. I’m not being glib when I say that all casks are exceptional in their own right and you won’t waste your money no matter which you pick, but if you have to only take one it might just be this one. It’s not only because I FREAKING love the weirdo label. It’s because this Mortlach represents something that the old one doesn’t – a heavily sherried malt that almost anyone can appreciate. The nose is filled with both sweet and savory elements – bold spices, sweet oak, nutty sherry, meaty Mortlach. I love that the spirit doesn’t totally disappear behind the wood and the wine. A little bit of water brightens it all up significantly, bringing some orange liqueur, rancio fruit, fresh tanned hide. On the palate the entry is borderline sweet with tons of texture and dark flavors of cacao and exotic woods to balance the stewed fruit at the front. With water we lighten up to find a little bit more citrus, some rounder malt, and a touch of herbal earthiness on the mid palate. You can’t NOT love this.
Alex Schroeder | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 25, 2018
This Speyside distillery, owned by Diageo, usually goes into blends like Johnny Walker, so finding a single cask of the single malt is very exciting! On the nose it has bright, expressive fruit flavors of stone fruit, caramel and a hint of banana. It is incredibly smooth on the palate with the perfect balance between fresh, bright fruit flavors and warm, creamy caramel, and malt. Another knockout single cask for a VERY reasonable price… enjoy it while it lasts!
Andrew Stevens | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 21, 2018
It’s all about the Sherry baby, that is what this bottling of Mortlach sings all the way through. On the nose there are hints of that smoked meat/savory thing that Mortlach is famous for, although here it almost comes through as a roasted corn note to me. However, once you get into the bottle it is all about that rich smooth Sherry life. Warm nutty layers with marzipan and a touch of cocoa overlay everything with the meaty, woody quality hiding behind. Soft and short on the finish this is an amazingly fun and rich bottle from a distillery that is near impossible to get these days.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 21, 2018
Mortlach distillery produces exceptional and delicious single malts. This single cask continues this trend. It is rich and round with the sherry aging showing. It is full and sweet with hints of sweet dried fruits. With the addition of a little water it becomes a glass of soft sweetness. Fans of mature and lively sherry barrel aged single malts should love this selection.
Anthony Russo | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 16, 2018
Twenty-two year old Mortlach, aged in a first-fill Sherry butt, and under $120?! What more can you ask for? The classic grassy flavors of the distillery blast through the sweet, nutty center so well to create an incredibly well balanced juice that can be enjoyed by novice and seasoned scotch drinkers alike. A great cigar drink.
We’ve always looked to make Faultline about providing exquisite values for our customers. This is the third Mortlach we’ve procured under the Faultline brand and the oldest to date. The last time we had Mortlach it was nearly the precise opposite style of this wild cask. Three years ago we found a 25 year old Mortlach in a refill hoggie and bottled it at over 60% alcohol. If you’re lucky, maybe you have that bottle in your cellar to compare to this one which is opposite in style in almost every way. Filled almost three decades ago into a fresh sherry hogshead, it must have been stored in an extremely humid warehouse since it’s only 84 proof at full strength. This is real deal Mortlach with the savory beefy quality front and center. It’s something like walking into an old wooden house, perfectly preserved antique leather furniture, mahogany cabinetry and in the kitchen a great big pot of stew bubbles slowly on the stove. Inviting, warm, complex and yet somehow familiar – there will be very few whiskies comparable to this one available this year and absolutely NONE anywhere near this ridiculous price point. We could probably sell this whisky for twice the price and still convince everyone that it’s a steal. Though it’s not as approachable and universally likeable as its younger sibling, this cask will undoubtedly some of our diehard customers as one of the finest we’ve ever procured.
David Othenin-Girard | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 25, 2018
This was the first whisky I tasted when evaluating these casks. It kind of ruined everything after it just a bit. Most bottlers would take a cask like this and try to sell it for $300-500. And, to be honest, the price would have been close to that had I not pushed back on the initial list. I’m not totally convinced that I couldn’t have sold this for two or three times the price we’re asking, but that’s just not how we roll. This silly little Mortlach was distilled in 1989 before the Berlin wall came down. This is textbook Mortlach. The nose is all Oloroso sherry poured over braised beef shoulder. It almost reminds me of old Armagnac in a way because the meaty malt and the oxidized sherry notes retain a fruit component that seems unlikely. The palate is textured and dense, owing to the great evaporation of the last three decades, but the natural low proof isn’t obvious. Prickles of black pepper and earthy wood poke through on the palate dominated by those gorgeous Oloroso flavors. This one is pretty obvious in the best way possible.
Andrew Stevens | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 21, 2018
Mortlach is one of those distilleries I would always hear about from Scotch aficionados; one that was always described with a wistfulness of how you just cannot find anything that tastes quite like it these days. This single barrel from 1989 is only my third bottling of Mortlach I have ever tried, and I finally get what people mean when they talk about looking for this flavor. It is unique, and old, and not sweet or soft in ways I would think but it is good. I love the description David gave of an old house because that is precisely what it felt like to taste this. Old wood, old shoe polish, old leather, but with a warm bubbling pot on the hearth, and a finish that feels like it will go on as long as this house of our imagination.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 21, 2018
I tasted this single malt out of the bottle with no added water because it has 42.5 abv. It is full bodied, a touch sweet, concentrated and layered, with flavors of malt, dried fruits, and a hint of wood. The age of the cask and the sherry barrel have really influenced the flavor profile. There is a wonderful long nutty finish. Single malts from Mortlach always seem to please and this single barrel is no exception.
Anthony Russo | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: April 16, 2018
Between the 22 and the 28 year old expressions, this is the one for people who want a bit more of the sherry richness. Also a bit softer, the nose slightly reminds me of a very high end, unsweetened Cognac. Almost a touch minty. With a slightly lower ABV, this is the complex Mortlach for those who want to pour themselves a glass after a long day and just focus on the complexities of the dram. The age of the spirit is most apparent on the palate as the woody notes really stand out.
