G&M Recollection Port Ellen 1981

Tasting Notes

Producer Tasting Note

Nose: Dark chocolate aromas complement ginger and cinnamon spice. Blackcurrant gives way to medjool dates and sweet vanilla pod.

Taste: Rich fruitcake flavours lead to baked apples and rich, sweet smoke. Peanut brittle comes to the fore alongside dark cherry and spicy pepper.

Finish: A long and full finish with lasting dried fruit and bonfire embers.

93pts Whisky Fun

"So, this one has been catching my eye on the shelves for many weeks, but I was waiting for a special occasion to taste it. I suppose a little vertical quartet like we're doing today is indeed a special occasion, isn't it? The colour itself is extraordinary and I cannot not think of some older (so younger, yep) light-sherried versions for Italy, most already from G&M's racing stable anyway. Colour: golden amber. Nose: plain smoky honey. More resins, balms, waxes, pollen. It's marvellous, and furthermore, it leaves the humble taster speechless, as it is so perfect and subtle. Please hide your disappointment. With water: mud and earth, old cellar, humidor, old attic, orange zests, notes of sweet and tart white manseng wine (say Jurançon)… This is more a Port Ellen for prestigious evenings in five-star hotels, rather than to take along in your silver hipflask (the one with a skull and a Harley logo). Mouth (neat): utterly masterful and extremely complex and rich, and yet never heavy. More balms and resins, a few sultanas, ripe mirabelles (when they get pink), grassier honeys, sweet spices… This time it is absolutely not a tar-bomb anymore, it's possibly one of the most civilised PEs I've ever tried. With water: it almost became a stunning herbal liqueur. Small citrus, lemongrass, plums, thyme, rosemary, woodruff, mint… Finish: medium, creamy and jammy, with all those stunning liqueurs and certainly bergamots, kumquats and other small citrus fruits. Honeyed aftertaste. Comments: all these Port Ellens are very different, but the quality remains constantly very high. In other words, there are obvious differences in style, especially since the peat is now fading a bit, but there is almost no difference in quality, thanks to the bottlers... and the distillers! SGP:665 - 93 points."

Independent Bottler

Adapted from an article written for Celtic Life Magazine by Andrew Ferguson:

In 1895 James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail opened a grocery business in the City of Elgin, the heart of Scotland’s Speyside whisky region. The business sold groceries, tea, coffee and wines from all over the world. 125 years later, Gordon & MacPhail still operates the grocery business in Elgin, but its real enterprise is as an Independent Bottler and Distiller of Scotch Whisky.

In the early years of the business Gordon and MacPhail brought in a young John Urquhart as apprentice. Urquhart had a knack for selecting and blending whiskies from local distilleries. He also began brokering casks and independently bottling single malt from famous distilleries like Glenlivet, Mortlach and Glen Grant. The practice of filling casks of new make whisky, rather than simply purchasing mature casks began at this time. This is something which sets Gordon MacPhail apart from almost all other independent bottlers to this day, and it gave them a leg up through leaner years. In 1915 John Urquhart was made senior partner, and though the firm would keep its name, from this point on it would remain privately owned by the Urquhart family.

In 1933 George Urquhart, aka “Mr. George”, joined his father in the business. He was heavily involved in the firm’s whisky business, travelling widely to showcase Gordon & MacPhail whiskies. G&M’s business thrived during and after World War II. Having had the foresight to lay down large numbers of casks in the 1930s and early 1940s, they were in a strong position to meet demand, especially in America. This was a difficult time for most of the industry with barley rationing dramatically reducing distilling.

In 1968, under George Urquhart’s leadership, Gordon & MacPhail launched the Connoisseurs Choice range. At a time when few distilleries were bottling their own whisky as single malt (rather producing it for use in Blended Scotch whiskies), Gordon & MacPhail began marketing single malts from distilleries across Scotland. The range is still being bottled today.

The third generation began entering the business with George’s son Ian Urquhart in 1967. He was joined by David Urquhart in 1972, as well as Michael Urquhart and Rosemary Rankin in 1981. The family firm continued to thrive even during the industry downturn of the 1980s and ear 90’s, emerging as the undisputed preeminent independent bottler of Scotch whisky. In the 2010s the torch was passed to the 4th generation, with at least five of John Urquhart’s descendants now involved in the business.

It had always been John Urquhart’s vision for the family to own a distillery of its own. The dream was finally realized in 1993 with the acquisition of the closed Benromach Distillery in the nearby town of Forres. The distillery was in rough shape, and it took nearly 5 years to get it up and running. HRH Prince Charles was on hand in 1998 for its official reopening. Never content to rest on their laurels, the firm announced plans in 2019 to open a brand-new distillery in the Cairngorms National Park. The Cairn Distillery is scheduled to open in 2022.

One of the most remarkable things about Gordon & MacPhail is the vision it had to mature whiskies to great ages. Few other whisky firms, whether distilleries or independent bottlers, have ever had the foresight to mature casks for more than 30 or 40 years. In 2010 G&M bottled the Generations Mortlach 70 Years Old, which was the oldest whisky ever bottled at the time. They followed up on that milestone by bottling 70-year-old Glenlivet in both 2011 and 2012. And then in 2015 they once again they raised the bar by bottling the Generations Mortlach 75 Year. Of the 10 oldest whiskies ever bottled, all but 2 have been bottled by G&M.

It is almost certain that Gordon MacPhail will one day bottle the first ever one-hundred-year-old whisky, but that may still be a couple of decades away. Their oldest maturing stocks are from the late 1930s and early 1940s. A number of these casks, 15 First Fill Sherry Butts to be precise, were filled for Gordon & MacPhail at the Glenlivet Distillery on February 3rd, 1940. Most of these casks have been bottled over the decades, but G&M dipped into another of these casks this year to bottle another whisky. The Generations Glenlivet 80 Year, once more the oldest bottle of Scotch Whisky ever bottled. It isn’t inexpensive, but I can vouch for it in one regard… it doesn’t disappoint!

Gordon & MacPhail whiskies can be found all over the world with whiskies ranging from under $100 to $100,000.00 or more. Their grocery shop in Elgin is the brand's spiritual home, with a section dedicated to Scotch Whisky that showcases more than 1000 bottles. Prior to Covid-19 the shop offered both tastings and in-store sampling. As does their nearby Benromach Distillery in Forres, one of the smallest and most traditional distilleries in the Speyside.