MORTLACH

The first distillery in Dufftown - the town of the seven stills - was converted to a brewery for a time, then back to a distillery. Then it was used as a temporary Free Church. The name apparently means "bowl-shaped valley" in Gaelic. The malt had a high reputation as early as the 1860s, and is rated "Top Class" by blenders. It expanded to six stills in 1897, when the whisky was known even in London. Bought by Johnnie Walker in 1923, and rebuilt in 1964 (retaining the original stills). A form of partial triple distillation is used.