Mortlach 1981

Fondly referred to as the Beast of Dufftown, Mortlach dates back to 1823 when it was founded by James Findlater. Like so many other owners of the period, he didn’t last too long and a variety of new owners came and went. The distillery was held back by periods of inaction and for a period in the 1850s was a brewery and a church. It was the arrival of the Cowie family that guided Mortlach into what we know it today, John Walker & Sons snapped it up in the 1920s before they were acquired by DCL. And it has remained with Diageo since. The distillery is mostly known for its work with sherry casks and huge potential to be matured excessively with its savoury characteristics. Like Springbank, its complex distillation is unique and is part of its legacy. An assortment of stills and processes mean it is distilled 2.81 times. For much of its life, outside of support from Gordon & MacPhail, the distillery had a cult-like status. Diageo has tried in recent years to raise its single malt profile with various launches to mixed success.