BUY A CASK OF MORTLACH
At Mark Littler Ltd. we offer honest and impartial advice to help you buy quality casks of Mortlach whisky at a fair price.
Buy with confidence from a broker with more than 300 five-star reviews from customers just like you.
Buy a Mortlach whisky cask
Are you looking to buy a cask of Mortlach whisky? We are specialist brokers with hundreds of five-star reviews and a proven track record of helping and educating people to ensure they make the right decision when they come to buy a cask of Mortlach.
As we are whisky cask brokers (rather than dealers) we’ll be able to find you your perfect cask of Mortlach.
By choosing to purchase a cask through Mark Littler you gain access to the whole cask market rather than just our own inventory. That means when you come to sell your cask you will not be selling the same product as everyone else (as is the case when people buy from distillery investment schemes), meaning your cask will command a premium.
If you think that a cask or casks from Mortlach distillery is the right choice for you then we can help you find you the cask that meets your needs. Alternatively, if you are open to suggestions then we can also discuss other potential matches for your cask investment needs.
Download Our Cask Buying Guide
How Mark Littler Can Help You
Let’s assume you have read our cask guide and watched all of our cask investment videos. If not, follow the links and put yourself in an informed position before you buy.
If you think that casks are a good investment for you then we can now help you find you the perfect cask for your needs.
Here is what we do in a nutshell:
Mr Smith comes to us to find three casks, one for each of his three grandchildren. We find him casks a selection of casks from Bruichladdich, Ben Nevis, Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Springbank, Highland Park and Arran to meet his budget and needs. His casks are then moved to our exclusive HMRC Bonded Warehouse.
Mr Smith visits his casks every 2-3 years on his way up to Scotland. He contacts us every Christmas to have 6 bottles drawn from each of his casks.
We have the bottles applied with bespoke labels and he enjoys how the whisky inside his casks is maturing and developing.
When his grandchildren reach 21 they decide to sell their casks. Mark Littler LTD. help them draw a final six bottles from the cask as a keepsake. The casks are then sold in bond and the three grandchildren each use the proceeds from the sales towards a house deposit. Best of all their profits are free from Capital Gains Tax.
How We Evolved As A Broker
We don’t only sell casks to people. In fact, our primary business is selling bottles and casks for people. We are established antiques brokers and have sold everything from medieval gold rings to classic cars.
So how did we get to a position where we were selling casks to the public? Learn more in this short video:
Advice You Can Trust
Since 2016 our aim has been simple – to provide a trustworthy source of information to help people make sound decisions when they are selling their items. To date we have sold millions of pounds worth of antiques and whisky (both casks and bottles) for our clients.
We’re now applying this same logic to help people invest in casks of whisky. Rather than providing sales pitches disguised as educational material, it’s our mission to become the ultimate source of open and honest cask investment guidance.
The information you will find in OUR GUIDE, CASK VIDEOS, BLOG and CALCULATOR is all designed to help you make a balanced decision. We would rather you knew all the facts and didn’t buy a cask than buy one based on ‘fake news’.
The History Of The Mortlach Distillery
Although the name Mortlach comes from the name of a village, in fact by the time the distillery was built it had already been out of use for a number of years since Dufftown had been built in 1817.
The Mortlach Distillery originates from 1823 when it was established by James Findlater hot on the heels of the 1823 Excise Act. The distillery was built, as so many other early distilleries were, on the site of an illicit older distillery. As Dufftown’s first legal distillery, it was, in fact, Dufftown’s only distillery until the foundation of Glenfiddich many years later in 1887. In fact, the founder of Glenfiddich, William Grant, actually worked for the Mortlach Distillery for two decades before establishing his own premises.
During its early days, the distillery produced around 50 gallons each week, which were usually sold directly from the still in either nine or ten-gallon casks to local gentry. At the time, it was difficult to transport the whisky since there was a limited road infrastructure. Between 1823 and 1853, the Mortlach distillery changed hands several times and even became a brewery briefly.
For a while, the distillery was even in the hands of the Glen Grant brothers who gutted the buildings to use the equipment in their Rothes distillery. However, their ownership was short-lived and George Cowie, an engineer, joined John Gordon in 1853 as the distillery’s co-owner. It was under his ownership that the distillery would go from strength to strength and whisky production would be recommenced, leading to Mortlach becoming one of the best blending malts.
By the time that Cowie became the distillery’s sole owner in 1867, it was a very successful operation, and just one year later it was supplying spirits overseas to as far afield as Australia, China, India and America. The distillery was taken over in 1896 by Cowie’s son who worked with Charles C Doig, a distillery architect, to expand the premises in 1897. Other improvements were made including the Strathspey Line which linked the railway to Dufftown and electric lighting which was introduced to the distillery in 1898.
The Mortlach distillery was purchased by John Walker & Sons in 1923 and they used a lot of the whisky produced in their own blends. Eventually, it passed into the hands of DCL and from there to Diageo who own the distillery today.
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