Mortlach Special Release 2023

About The Brand: Mortlach

In Dufftown, Moray, Scotland, there is a distillery called Mortlach that produces Scotch whiskey. Diageo presently owns the distillery, which was established in 1823. Several Johnnie Walker bottlings include the whiskey as a primary ingredient, and Diageo also sells four Mortlach single malts. The first legal distillery in Dufftown was Mortlach, which was built there by James Findlater in 1823 after the Excise Act on the site of an earlier illegal distillery. Before Glenfiddich was established in Dufftown in 1887, it was the sole distillery there. Prior to this, for 20 years, the inventor of Glenfiddich, William Grant, worked at the Mortlach distillery and was even made manager. It was often sold directly from the still in 9 or 10 gallon barrels to the extremely few wealthy local aristocracy who could afford it back then when the production was around 50 gallons per week. The cost was around $9 per gallon duty paid. Delivery was often done by pack pony across the difficult hill paths because there were few significant highways. Between 1823 and 1853, when the distillery was still young, its ownership changed often. At one time, it even turned into a brewery. George Cowie, an engineer who had previously worked with Thomas Grainger and John Miller, joined John Gordon as the distillery's owner in 1853. George Cowie acquired exclusive ownership of the distillery in 1867. There may not be a Scottish distillery with as many private clients as Mortlach, according to a report in The Elgin Courant from 1868: 'In all of whisky, Mr. Cowie has customers who prefer his distillation to all others. Spirits are sent not only over the three kingdoms to families, but also to America, India, China, and Australia.' Alexander Mitchell Cowie, who was born in 1861, moved to Vienna and subsequently Hong Kong after earning his medical degree from the University of Aberdeen. When Alexander learned that his father was getting sick in 1896, he went back to Dufftown and took over the distillery. In 1897, Mortlach was enlarged under the direction of distillery architect Charles C. Doig. The 2.81 distillation process was implemented, and a railroad siding known as the 'Strathspey line' connected it to Dufftown. One of the first in the region, the distillery also obtained electrical illumination in 1898. The North of Scotland Malt Distiller's Association elected Alexander as its chairman. The distillery was purchased by John Walker & Sons in 1923, and a large portion of the whiskey was utilized in their mixes. Owner Diageo introduced four high-end single malts in 2014 under the Mortlach brand.