Founded in 1823 during an age of great achievement, Mortlach was the first legal in Dufftown, the heart of Speyside, and to this day has been a 190-year secret. In its primitive years Mortlach was like all others, that is until George Cowie joined in 1853. Previously an engineer during the Golden Age of Victorian Engineering, George applied his audacity, skill and determination to the , taking it from strength to strength and growing its reputation across the world through a network of private customers. By 1896, George's son Alexander joined the business, introduced the 2.81 distillation process, and set events in motion that would give us the rich, muscular whisky we know today.