Wine Society Bottling | 40% ABV

Hidden Value In Obscurity

Today we delve into the world of obscurity. The particular vintage of the bottle you see before you has no record on Whiskybase, no known reviews, and you can count on one hand the number of times such bottles have been seen at auction.

What’s more, this one seemed to have lived at least part of its life, however short or long it may have been, submerged. Naturally, I had to go for it.

Born out of a combination of curiosity and search for value - a theme you’ll see across my reviews - the most obscure bottles can be the most rewarding purchases. One could argue that a review for a bottle that readers will, with 99.999% certainty, never come across (even at auction), would be pointless. Certainly the SEO value is zero. Fortunately, the monolithic and absolutist powers that be at Dramface headquarters care not for anything but honest reviews. And so here before you stands one of the most obscure bottle reviews you may ever come across.

While I concede that this review will have no bearing on sales of this particular bottle, I do hope it inspires curiosity for the obscure, the interesting, the rare, and the unknown. In the process of the review, I’ll also make the case against blind tastings for such bottles, because the historical context can absolutely enhance the experience of drinking.

As I’ve spoken about in prior reviews, finding where your palate disagrees with the masses and the experts can be a great way to find value. But the other path of value is in the obscure. The bottle for which no one has espoused even an inkling of an opinion. In the case of this bottle, released in the 1970’s, it was a time when few cared to opine on whisky flavours and even fewer wrote it down. Certainly a note would have been unthinkable for a “drinker” such as this. Labeled “over 10 years old” and 70 proof (40% ABV), I doubt the consumers of the day did much more than casually and quickly drink, finish, and toss the bottle without a second thought. And so more “special” 1970s releases are sometimes more likely to appear at auction than bottles like this, which weren’t worthy of anything but accidental preservation.

If you have the time, I’m a big advocate of browsing whisky auction sites for such obscure bottles that others will overlook. Bottles with good reviews will have people chasing them. Even bottles with “ok” reviews but known names will have people chasing them. But few people pay attention to unreviewed old bottles that don’t carry with them stats of significance. Often this applies to old blends, but occasionally it applies with single malts. Sure this is Mortlach, which carries with it great interest from connoisseurs, but it’s a “mere” 10 years old, the lowest possible (modern) proof and the independent bottler - The Wine Society - is not sought after. So ignored, in fact, that I could only find one Wine Society bottle reviewed on WhiskyFun. But there’s gold in them hills!! I looked at it and thought “this is the least I will ever pay for 60’s - and possibly 50’s - Mortlach.”

Now for the caveat. Caveat emptor, to be exact. Buying the unknown could be bad. I mean, bad. In Serge’s recent interview with Roy of Aqvavitae, Serge spoke of the impact on professionalisation and standardisation of distillation on the impact on whisky quality. Essentially, he argued that the average quality of Scotch increased greatly over the years, but so did the standard deviation of quality. In other words, you have a lot fewer truly bad casks of whisky, but you also have fewer truly exceptional ones. Whether they were deliberate or “happy accidents” as Bob Ross fans would understand, there are definitely some epic old whiskies that you just don’t come across in modern whisky. I spoke of some examples of such rare profiles here.

Some common flavour punishments for mis-purchased obscure bottles? Heavily metallic. Spoiled/rotten fruit and vegetables. Cardboard. Glue. Sometimes intermingled with interesting or delicious notes and sometimes totally and completely overwhelmed. But… but! You’ll find many drinkable, very good, and occasionally some gems. Think of it as the thrill of the hunt.

An efficient strategy to explore obscure bottles is to find a friend or two and split everything you buy. Your money goes further, and you limit the sting of the bad purchases. Eventually you’ll learn cues on bottles to avoid and thus increase your likelihood of finding the diamonds in the rough.

Speaking of which...

Review

Mortlach-Glenlivet 10yo, The Wine Society, 1970s bottling, ‘Over Ten Years Old’, 26 2/3 fluid oz, 40% ABV (70º proof),
£250 paid at auction

The usual bottle photography table had been requisitioned for a month-long dinner party for a wee one and her friends. Rather than disturbing this perpetual event, I decided to embrace it. Perhaps the faux food offers clues to tasting notes? Read more to find out.

Nose

Rich stewed blackberries, aged and partially dried prunes. Christmas spices with cinnamon and clove. A touch of anise. The scent of an old library with patina-ed mahogany walls.

Palate

BlackBerry pie, sticky toffee pudding, dripping caramel, with engine oil and a touch of soot. At moments this does feel a bit thin, but the flavor depth and breadth keeps it fascinating and rewarding. Warm and loving Christmas spice, wine gummies, and old rich sherry repeatedly pushing and pulling back and forth. Old leather. Delicious, delicious, delicious. 

At moments it flashes utter brilliance of yore, in others it seems like a warm and approachable dram that calls to be regularly and casually drunk. Elements of sooty peat punch through the otherwise gentle sherried warm and fuzzy coat. The charcoal carries the finish where the strength otherwise holds it back, which is to say the sherry goodness vanishes fairly quickly.

The Dregs

Tasting something of yesteryear, particularly something that would have been an easy drinker, is a wonderful glimpse into the past. To think that this dram was born in the 50’s or 60’s, spent 10+ years in cask, then FIFTY years in the bottle. My mind drags me through the history and flashes it before my eyes as I nose and sip this. This dram is very good, but I won’t deny that it’s the history and its singular nature, not flavor alone, that elevate the experience to dizzying heights. Yes, this is an advertisement for not drinking blind.

Simultaneously, I will bring this back to earth a bit with the admission that it isn’t the best dram of all time. 

It’s somewhat thin (despite a near perfect fill level), and the sherried profile is on the lighter side. Water down, then bottle-age a Springbank 15 for a couple of decades and I suspect you’ll get something like this. Some eccentricities and the history make the experience enjoyable and memorable, for which I’m unapologetically adding a point to my score. But be careful- sip this too quickly, without contemplation and without respect, and it will pass you by. In the meantime, I’ll savour it.

Score: 8/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. IG

Other opinions on this:

Whiskybase (close match - slightly later bottling, clear glass)
Whiskybase (later 75cl bottling, clear glass)

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