The Speyside community of Dufftown has about 1,600 inhabitants, and boasts a total of six active distilleries within its confines—Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Mortlach, Kininvie, Glendullan, and Dufftown. It’s somewhat humorously known for having the highest per capita GDP in the UK, thanks to its small population base and the millions of liters its distilleries produce every year.
Mortlach is the elder statesman among those distilleries, having been founded in 1823. Known as the Beast of Dufftown, its whisky is favored for its bold, meaty flavors that aren’t typical of the generally mild Speyside malts. Its production process is a complicated one—all six of its stills are a different size, and some of the whisky is distilled three times and some of it is double distilled, resulting in the unusual average of being distilled 2.81 times. For all its idiosyncracies, Mortlach is among the least widely known of the Dufftown single malts, largely because this Diageo-owned distillery’s bold-tasting whisky has aways been needed to supply demands of the giant Johnnie Walker franchise. It wasn’t until 2014 that Mortlach began releasing its whisky as a single malt, and today the core range consists of 12, 16, and 20 year old expressions.
Older bottlings of Mortlach have generally been the province of independent bottlers like Gordon & Macphail. But rarely has Diageo released its own ultra-aged Mortlach expression. Now it has unveiled the 2024 U.S. release of Mortlach 30 year old: Midnight Malt, a limited release with only 350 bottles available worldwide and priced at $5,300. The whisky’s maturation was divided among three separate barrel types—Bordeaux wine, Calvados, and Guatemalan rum, and then further matured together in quarter casks, before being bottled at 49.8% ABV.
The release coincides with the announcement of a new partnership with Indian-American designer/artist Suchi Reddy. Launching during the art show Frieze LA, the partnership is presenting RARE, a dual-function whisky coaster and incense holder designed to “elevate” the senses and can be paired with a glass of Midnight Malt.
