Mortlach 12 Year Old Johnnie Walker Decanter 1982 / Takashimaya British Fair

Mortlach was founded in 1823 and was the first of Dufftown's "Seven Stills" to be licensed. It rose to pre-eminence under George Cowie & Son, who's unique distillation regime produced a famously "meaty" whisky, which was highly prized by blenders. It was for this reason that it was acquired by John Walker & Sons, and so important to them was it that little stock was left available for bottling as a single malt. The Flora & Fauna release was the first official distillery bottling, but it was not until 2014 that Mortlach was bottled under its own fully fledged single malt brand.

Prior to the formation of United Distillers in 1988, the distilleries within the DCL portfolio were often licensed out to its blending companies, in this instance it was former owners, John Walker & Sons. The esteemed blenders also held the license for Talisker at this time. When United Distillers succeeded DCL, one of their first orders of business was to reclaim control of the distribution of their single malts. Mortlach single malt would not be bottled again until 1991 when a 16 year old was introduced as part of the Flora & Fauna brand.

This decanter was produced for the Takashimaya British Fair in Japan in 1982. Unusually, John Walker & Sons have dual-branded this, and it bears both their Mortlach and Johnnie Walker logos.