Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers is run by a branch of one of the most famous families in the whisky industry. The Morrisons were already established whisky brokers before buying the Bowmore distillery in 1963, where they oversaw the glory years of distillation that culminated in Bowmore Bicentenary and Black Bowmore, adding the Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan distilleries to their stable before selling the business to Suntory in 1994.
Subsequently the former Morrison Bowmore chairman Brian Morrison and his son Jamie teamed up in 2005 with former Bowmore directors Rob Starling and Kenny Mackay to buy The Scottish Liqueur Centre (SLC), producers of the Bruadar and Columba Cream whisky liqueurs, setting themselves up as independent bottlers.
The company’s first bottlings of single malt and single grain whisky were released under the Càrn Mòr label in 2007 and 2008. The most recent iteration of the Càrn Mòr label currently encompasses two separate ranges: Càrn Mòr Celebration of the Cask, a series of long-aged cask strength whiskies; and the Càrn Mòr Strictly Limited range, which launched in 2012 and now showcases younger casks at 47.5%. There have also been a handful of special edition Càrn Mòr Family Reserve long-aged cask strength releases.
In 2013, Scottish Liqueur Centre bought the defunct Old Perth blended whisky brand from Whyte & Mackay and subsequently relaunched it as a range of blended malts. SLC was renamed Morrison & Mackay the following year.
2017 saw Morrison & Mackay move to new premises supplied with a blending plant and bottling facility on a family-owned farm in Aberargie. Brian and Jamie Morrison’s new Lowland distillery Aberargie, a separate initiative under The Perth Distilling Company, was completed on a site next to the M&M premises the same year. The Morrisons took sole ownership of Morrison & Mackay in 2019, rebranding to Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers in 2020 and relaunching the Càrn Mòr range in upgraded packaging.
Aberargie distillery uses the old-school barley variety Golden Promise, which is grown on the family farm, along with Laurette barley from other Morrison farms elsewhere in Scotland, and the distillery's whisky is matured only in first and second fill sherry and bourbon casks. Distillation at Aberargie began in November 2017, with all stock currently reserved for future single malt releases. The first release of Aberargie's single malt whisky is expected in 2026.