G&M MacPhail's 1949 68 Year Single Malt

This item is archived.

The best priced almost 70 year old whisky you will ever see again! We had the opportunity to select bottles of one of two casks 1949 vintgae Speyside whisky bottled by Gordon Macphail at 41.4% and 68 years after maturing in a First Fill Sherry Butt. Distilled: 3rd June 1949. Bottled: 2nd August 2017. The distillery is not disclosed, that would likely have doubled the price of the bottle, but we suspect it is either Glenlivet or Glen Grant (but more strongly suspect the former). Cask number: 2203. 210 bottles were produced, mostly for China, where 1949 is a significant date. Only a dozen will ever find their way to Canada, exlcusively to KWM.

Andrew's Thoughts on Why This is Such an Amazing Opportunity: There are a lot of factors that make old whisky so expensive. Firstly, time can be cruel, with the angels greedily skimming 1-2% off a year from each and every barrel. Few single casks make it to 40 years at the bare minimum legal strength for whisky, 40%. Secondly, few people and or companies ever thought there would be demand for such old whisky, especially at the prices they now command, and accordingly they didn't plan to keep stocks for so long. Expensive/collectible old whisky is a relatively new phenomenon, only really etting up to steam in the 21st century. Finally, and most importantly, simply leaving something in a barrel for 40, 50, 60 or more years will not guarantee that it will get better. While the best, most interesting and complex whiskies I've ever had have all be old ones, age and quality are not synonymous. I have had a lot of disappointing older malts and blends. Many of these disappointing older whiskies were left in the barrel too long and had lost their vitality. That is the tricky bit about ageing whisky, every barrel matures at its own pace. This is what makes Gordon Macphail's older whiskies so interesting. The firm has bottled the six oldest whiskies I am aware of, including a 75 year old, three 70 year olds and at least two 68 year olds (of which this is one). They are also set to bottle an 80 year old whisky in the next year... Of these truly ancient malts I have yet to have a bad or disappointing one, if anything, the most surprising thing is that all of these whiskies seemingly could have been left to mature even longer.

"Enter into the frame the Macphail's 1949 68 year old single cask. Very few companies have ever released single malts over 50, let alone 60 or more years. When those distilleries which have, like Glenfarclas, Dalmore and Macallan, the whiskies have been many tens of thousands of dollars a bottle, if not closer to 100 Grand. This single cask of 68 year old single malt is among the 10 oldest whiskies ever bottled, and it is inexpensive, even by Gordon & MacPhail's standards (admittedly this is very relative). The distillery is not disclosed, though I suspect it is either Glen Grant or Glenlivet (I am leaning on this one). But consider this, if they had put the distillery's name on the bottle the whisky would have been 2-3 times the price on offer. You will never see another almost 70 year old whisky at this price ever again. We were given the opportunity to purchase bottles from one of two sister casks from 1949, and we felt this one was spectacular. I will have my own formal tasting note out shortly."

Producer Tasting Note

Aroma: Matured in the finest Sherry butt, this greatly aged whisky has developed rich fruit cake aromas with festive spice and a wisp of smoke.

Taste: A sip reveals Sherry character enhanced by rich spices and underlying orange peel. Hints of liquorice lead to charred oak on the long, smooth finish. 

700 ml