Welcome back to another fine tasting of two single malts, where I compare them side-by-side to really understand the difference, pick a favourite, and hopefully learn something new along the way. As usual, I’ve got a rather exciting pair to face off today (or at least that’s how I feel at the beginning of this journey). Today it’s the Teaninich 10-year-old, bottled by the marvellous mavericks at That Boutique-y Whisky Company (dram #8 from the 2022 Advent Calendar), versus the Mortlach 13-year-old Special Releases. Are you ready to dive in? But first, we need music! Now playing: The Prodigy – Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

Founded in 1817, the Teaninich is a Highland distillery owned by Diageo. It has long been cloaked in the shadows of the blending industry, diligently churning out a liquid that often seems to hide within your favourite blends. Indeed, Diageo often uses it in Johnnie Walker (Red Label) for its malty finesse, notes of grassy plains and zesty citrus. This is TBWC’s 3rd batch, bottled at a respectable 49.2% ABV, and, as usual with this independent bottler, it is uncoloured and un-chill filtered and automatically gets my integrity malt star. I’m very curious how it would stand up against the “Beast of Dufftown”, which its same owner, Diageo, has been recently propping up as the flagship single malt. This is a Special Release bottling from 2021, bottled at punchy cask strength of 55.9% ABV from the refill and virgin oak casks, and as far as I know, it’s non-chill filtered, but there may be colouring in it. So not quite “integrity” really [consistent with non-independent bottlers]. It’s worth pointing out that Diageo’s 2022 Special Release bottling of the Mortlach is [currently] sold for a whopping £250, and, guess what? It bears no age on the bottle, so honestly, I am a bit put off. At least this 13-year-old Speyside is somewhat honest in its meatiness, rich character, and complex delivery, attributed to its unique 2.81 distillation process. Interestingly enough, six months ago, I compared a Linkwood 11-year-old from TBWC against the very same Mortlach here. I won’t read my own words just yet, and I will write the upcoming paragraph on tasting first.

The colouring on these is very much the same, even though the Mortlach appears slightly darker (but we’ll ignore that due to added E150A). On the nose, the Teaninch is a little lighter, with ripe peaches, bananas, green apples and that ex-bourbon oak profile. The Mortlach is a bit closed off, with a bit of waxiness in the background. I’ll add some water later, but first, I’ll try both neat. The Teaninch is definitely woodsy. Gone are those citrusy flavours that my mind projected on my Glencairn, and they are replaced with oak shavings and veiled ethanol. The Mortlach is indeed fatter in oils but duller and darker in its sweetness. It’s also very woodsy, with notes of ex-bourbon flavours now completely gone. Interesting. Hmm. Let’s add some water now. The nose is still fantastic on the Teaninch, but it’s definitely thin and oakey on the palate. The Mortlach kept its waxiness and thickness and held on to woodsy, virgin oak. I’ll drop even more water into the latter because of the higher ABV and try them in reverse now after a short break and a sip of San Pellegrino. Right, they stayed the same. There’s something bitter in the Mortlach, especially in the finish, but it is malty, dark and rich. The Teaninch echoes the ex-bourbon, but it’s softer and, a second later, turns to oak. I can see how it is used to beef up blended whisky, but I am unsure about it as a single malt. That being said, the Mortlach feels like it is just trying too hard, and, in the end, it overcompensates with alcohol.

Distillery / Region	Teaninich / Highlands	Mortlach / Speyside
Producer	Diageo	Diageo
Bottler / Series	That Boutique-y Whisky Company / Batch 3	Distillery bottling / Diageo Special Releases 2021
Stated Age / Vintage	10 years old	13 years old
Cask type	undisclosed	Virgin and Refill American Oak
ABV / Cask Strength	49.2% / ???	55.9% / Yes!
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	Yes / Yes 🌟	Yes / No (?)
Price	£40	£135
Did it win? / Did I like it?	No / No	No / Eh
Would I buy it? / Recommend it?	No / Nope	No / No

So there you have it, folks, another interesting tasting. After finishing the above paragraph (and before starting this one), I actually went back and re-read my previous pairing, comparing a Linkwood 11-year-old vs Mortlach 13-year-old, and guess what? I was spot on in these write-ups on both occasions! Haha! I even complained about the new and expensive NAS Mortlach again! And yes, I mentioned the very same bitterness at the end of the Mortlach, while Linkwood appeared to be a bit fruitier and just an all-around lovely single malt. Also, in my previous tasting, I compared both against a Balvenie Single Barrel, so let me quickly try that quickly now. Yep. The Balvenie is more stripped out relative to both above, and I will go ahead and attribute that to chill-filtration. So what have we learned? I can see [taste] why some of these are used as fillers by Diageo in their blended whisky and why they are not really sought out as the single malts. So I wouldn’t rush out and pick up these expressions. There are just too many better bottlings out there! With that said, I will proclaim a draw between these two because I honestly would not reach out for either. I think that neither really wins because I wouldn’t really recommend them unless you’re up for an adventure.