Speyside Whisky With A Savoury Kick — And A Price Tag To Match

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Mortlach, the Scottish Speyside single malt distillery founded in Dufftown in 1823, has launched a new annual series called the Neverbound Collection.

The first release, simply titled Release 01, is now available in Malaysia in limited quantities.

The expression carries no age statement (NAS) — a deliberate departure from Mortlach’s existing core range, which includes the 12, 16, 20 and 25 Year Old expressions.

Mortlach describes the move as a shift away from age-led conventions toward flavour intensity.

The Still That Makes Mortlach Different

Release 01 is built on Mortlach’s signature 2.81 distillation process.

The name comes from an unusual step in production: a portion of the spirit takes an extra turn through the Wee Witchie, the smallest of the distillery’s six stills.

When averaged across the full batch, that extra pass adds up to the equivalent of 2.81 distillations — a fraction more than the standard double distillation used across most of Scotland.

The result is a spirit of unusual weight for a Speyside malt, a region more commonly associated with lighter, fruit-forward profiles.

Cask, Character, and What’s in the Glass

For this release, Mortlach finished the whisky in French oak casks sourced from the Cognac region — a first for the brand.

The casks were air-dried for up to four years before use, a process the distillery says refines the wood’s tannins and allows the oak to enhance rather than overpower the spirit’s existing character.

The whisky is bottled at 50.8% ABV.

Tasting notes describe the nose as red fruits with savoury undertones of soy sauce and smoked meat.

The palate opens sweet — demerara sugar — before giving way to meaty complexity, while the finish is spicy and savoury.

Master Blender Dr Craig Wilson described the release as placing emphasis on specific flavour elements to transform the drinking experience, noting that the expression delivers a viscous, deep mouthfeel.

The Liquid Has to Justify Itself

Each subsequent release in the Neverbound series will explore different techniques and cask types.

No details on Release 02 have been announced.

Mortlach Neverbound Release 01 retails at RM657 and is available exclusively at The Chamber and Cellar Eighteen in Malaysia.

RM657 is not outrageous — the 50.8% ABV, Cognac cask finishing, and Mortlach’s genuinely distinctive 2.81 distillation process do provide some justification.

But at that price, a consumer can also buy the 16-year-old from the same distillery for less, or explore NAS cask-finish expressions from BenRiach or Glenfiddich’s Experimental Series — comparable Speyside producers doing the same flavour-over-age argument at similar price points, both carrying their own craft credentials.

The value proposition rests entirely on whether the French oak finishing and flavour intensity deliver something that Mortlach’s own age-statement range cannot.

That’s a question the liquid has to answer — not the press release.

READ MORE: The Spirit Whisperer: How A Former Teacher Built Malaysia’s Most Personable Whisky Haven

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