Mortlach Distillery, The Beast of Dufftown, has one of the most storied pasts in Speyside whisky, beginning in 1823 when James Findlater, Donald Mackintosh and Alexander Gordon established it on the site of an older illicit operation, making it the first licensed distillery in Dufftown after the Excise Act legalised distilling. Over the next decade the site passed through several owners and even lay silent for a period in the 1830s when equipment was moved to support other ventures. In 1853 engineer George Cowie became part owner and later sole proprietor, steering Mortlach toward prominence as a rich, robust malt valued by blenders and private customers alike. His son Alexander Cowie took over in the 1890s, expanded the distillery, and introduced a unique 2.81 times distillation process that remains a defining feature of Mortlach’s bold spirit. In 1923 the distillery was acquired by John Walker & Sons, bringing it into the fold of what would become Distillers Company Limited and eventually Diageo, its current owner. Mortlach loves nothing more than to be in a great sherry butt and this few are more special than the great sweet Canasta Sherry butts from Willams & Humbert. This blend of dry oloroso sherry and ultra decedent Pedro Ximinez makes for one of the finest aging vessels available. This Canasta sherry butt was filled in 2010 and bottled 14 years later without chill filtration at a natural cask stregnth of 55%. Dense dark salted caramel, funirture polish and chococlate.