G&M CRN57 The Cairn 18 Year

Tasting Notes

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: old school sherry; soft leather, tobacco, and dried dark fruits with delicate smoke; candybars galore: Eatmore, Snickers, and Turkish Delight; chocolate dipped jujubes; white orchard fruits, mixed berry jam, and dried apricot; on the verge of going tropical; Mojitos & Kiev Mules; a great start.

Palate: damn, this is much better than I remembered; still old school with soft leather, cigar tobacco, and dried dark fruits with a hint of soft earthy peat; more Eatmore, Snickers, and Turkish Delight; full fat chocolate milk and and After Eights; the range of fruits broad and definitely going tropical; the spices are nuanced adding a lovely accent.

Finish: long, coating and balanced; candy bars, tropical fruits, subtle decadent spice, and just a whiff of soft peat smoke.

Comment: dollars to doughnuts, this could be the best value 18 year old we have; the value here is insane; this is old-school and oh so good; don't get hung up on the ABV, it is excellent!

Producer Tasting Note

Nose: Crisp apples, blueberries and candied citrus peel. Raisins and toasted almonds topped with brown sugar.

Palate: Banana, milk chocolate and hazelnut. Strawberries and cream, and a touch of spice.

Finish: Fresh lime, mint and a hint of pepper.

90pts Whisky Fun

"Apparently a mix that includes Tamdhu and unseated Benromach… Colour: pale amber. Nose: I'm sorry, but this is some sort of early 1990s batch of Macallan 18yo, is it not? A really surprisingly old school quality, full of plummy sherry, soft waxy notes, wee herbal teas and lots of mulchy earthiness that involves rather a lot of damp tobaccos, dark chocolate and heather honey. Hard to imagine that anyone would fail to be charmed by this profile. Mouth: wonderfully precise and bright sherry, minty, slightly leather, herbal, honeyed, a tad waxy, extremely deft, balanced and playful, with an overall easiness and lightness which is really impressive. Goes on with some notes of aged calvados and eucalyptus, and in time becomes increasingly mentholated and even shows a little rancio. Finish: good length, rather long in fact, very nicely herbal, a touch of leafy bitterness and peppery warmth, some ruby ales and notes of dried tarragon and honey. Comments: I find this extremely impressive, and you have to wonder at just what component within this mix is creating this older style aspect? Probably the Benromach I would imagine. I can't help but be reminded of some old Macallan 18yo batches. Highly recommended and if I did bang for your buck selections on WF, then this would probably be my pick for this month. SGP: 561 - 90 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.