1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
$140,000.00
ONE BOTTLE LEFT... IN THE WORLD! - Bottle #121 Available!
This was the oldest bottle of whisky ever bottled, for a little over a year and a half, and it is exclusive to KWM in Alberta! Only 4 of the 250 decanters produced are destined for Canada. Distilled February 3rd, 1940, at the Glenlivet Distillery, the whisky was filled into a First Fill Sherry Butt, and matured 80 years before botlling on February 5, 2020, at 44.9%. It isn't inexpensive, but it is stunning, and beautifully presented! 93pts Angus @ Whisky Fun!
We launched exclusively in Canada, a sister cask, the Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 Year around a decade ago. Details on our archive!
Producer Description: "On 3rd February 1940 in a quiet corner in the north of Scotland, George Urquhart and his father, John, had the extraordinary foresight and vision to lay down spirit from Glenlivet Distillery in a bespoke Gordon & MacPhail cask to be enjoyed by future generations.
"On 5th February 2020, leaning on the unique skill and experience acquired by over more than 125 years, the decision was taken to finally bottle the cask’s precious out-turn of 250 decanters."
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: deep, antique-y (as you'd expect), old school sherry tones; creme caramel, creme brule and toasted coconut; soft elegant leather, damp cigar tobacco, and high cocoa content dark chocolate; Australian licorice and Christmas cake; ripe mango, papaya and grilled pineapple; candied orange peel and dried apricot; you can tell its old, but also far from over the hill.
Palate: round, rich, decadent, and distinguished; still antique-y, this is a fine example of old school sherry matured whiskies, but also far from over the hill, with none of the telltale signs of over oaked spirit; juicy tropical fruits, more mango, papaya, melon, and grilled pineapple; some kiwi fruits, fig and apricot jams too; Manuka honey, treacle toffee, dark chocolate, and Christmas cake; old Armagnac, polished old leather sofas, and Cuban cigars; some faintly musty-earthy dunnage notes slide in with delicate spices.
Finish: warm, coating and elegant with soft smooth sherry tones, dark chocolate, subtle spices and tropical fruits.
Comment: what is most remarkable about this beautiful whisky, is how well it has aged; it is more sherried than the Generations Glenlivet 70 Year, but as with its sister cask bottling still vibrant and far from over the hill; it is an absolute treat and a real privilege to have had the opportunity to sample this whisky; well done Gordon & Macphail!
Official Tasting Note by Charlie MacLean MBE
Appearance: Deep umber with magenta lights; old polished rosewood. Aroma: A complex, mellow nose-feel, still vivacious after all these years. Top notes of almond oil, scented hand-soap, backed by sandalwood and gorse flowers on a warm day. A whiff of peat-smoke in the empty glass.
Palate: An oily texture, and lightly sweet to start (dates, salted plums, figs), drying elegantly (traces of dry Oloroso Sherry), towards a lengthy menthol finish. Drop of water increases spiciness.
Summary: Vibrant and wholly satisfying. One of the finest malts I have ever encountered (and he's had a few...).
93pts Angus @WhiskyFun
"Colour: amber. Nose: highly scented and polished, clearly hailing from the same family of American oak transport sherry casks that G&M were ubiquitously filling during this era. This highly aromatic mix of dried tropical fruits and coconut that can be found in many of their pre-war single malt bottlings from the 1980s and 1990s is on full display here. However, there's also more in the way of scented exotic hardwoods and their resins. Aged dried citrus peels, pu-ehr tea, dried flowers, tobaccos. It is very evidently an 'old' single malt on the nose, but blind you might have said anything from 40 to 60 years old. So arguably it feels younger than it is. It evolves more towards extremely classical aromas of wormwood, honey and soft waxes. I also find shoe leather, honeysuckle and old mead. These herbal and resinous aspects also hint at some peat influence that has probably long broken down into these beautiful wee sub-aromas. Indeed, a totally enchanting nose that you could (and should) spend time with. Despite what I wrote in the intro, so far I would say this whisky is stylistically rather distinct from the Cognac. Mouth: quite a wonderful arrival that once again firmly reminds us of many other old G&M bottlings, which in itself is probably a paean to their cask policy during these decades. The wood is present of course, big, spicy, clean and yet still restrained enough to leave plenty breathing space for other characteristics. Myriad dried exotic fruit flavours, suggestions of some very old Fins Bois cognac, aniseed, dried figs, pollens, deeply complex earthiness, soft peppery tones, petrichor and medicinal herbal flavours. After quite some time the sweetness on the palate becomes extremely impressive, very honeyed, resinous and exotic. That you would still have freshness and a sense of assertiveness from the fruit after 80 years is rather mind blowing. Finish: good length, delicately on tobaccos, dried leaves, flowers, herbs, pollens and gently bitter exotic teas. A tad fragile but still beautiful. Comments: As I mentioned above, it's extremely hard to assess such ancient whiskies, not only while retaining a sense of neutrality, but also this nagging feeling that they do not conform to normal assessment parameters. What I would say is that this one retains excellent levels of freshness, complexity and balance, while also displaying good length and power. It's just that the fact it would do so after 80 years is just totally astounding and genuinely thrilling; please never forget I am at heart, and 100% remain, a total whisky geek! On a technical level I think this is a stunning whisky, if not into the absolute stratosphere, but what is most impressive is what it tells us about the ageing potential of great single malts if done correctly. SGP: 652 - 93 points."
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.