A malt mill is literally a piece of machinery that churns and crushes grain, like a pepper mill or a seed mill.

It is not to be confused with the myth of Malt Mill Distillery, a real distillery on the isle of Islay.  The myth part is the fact that before it shut down, someone bottled some of its new make spirit, which recently resurfaced in Lagavulin and caused a flurry of interest.

So now we know what a malt mill is, we can go ahead.

Porteus was a brand of malt mill that was started in the 1900s and saw its demise not too much later.

The thing about Porteus was their dedication to their product.  They toiled and made sure that every Porteus Malt Mill that entered the market was perfect.

It was made from high quality materials and the parts were put together wonderfully.

Any one would be proud of such an impressive product.  And Porteus were proud.

As distilleries began to realise just how good the Porteus Malt Mill was, they all bought one and replaced any other mill that they had.

While many would be overjoyed at the progress of their business, this actually spelled the end for Porteus.

See, today companies understand that supply is directly related to demand.  If there is not demand, there is no supply and then business dries up and shrivels away to nothing.  Bleak as it may be, that is how these things work.

Porteus unfortunately did not seem to grasp this.  Their products were so good and lasted for so long that they effectually put themselves out of business.

That’s right folks, they literally made products so good that not only did they get rid of the competition but they got rid of themselves.

Porteus Malt Mills never broke down and never needed replaced, and since every distillery in Scotland had one, there was no more business.

Unfortunately for Porteus there was nowhere left to go, and all their hard work eventually spelled the end.