G&M Private Collection Glen Mhor 1982

Tasting Notes

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: rich, fruity, and decadent; soft Aussie licorice, candied nuts, Vahronna dark chocolate, Werther's Originals, and espresso beans; smoked maple syrup, honey garlic chicken wings, and teriyaki beef jerky; soft leather, cigar tobacco, and old churches: polished oak, old leather kneeling pads, and dusty old hymn books.

Palate: layered, meaty, and fruity, with loads of fruit and decadent sugars; Fruit Source bars, lightly salted caramel, and soft licorice, and treacle; still old-school or old-church to be precise: polished oak, soft old leather kneeling cushions, and more dusty old hymn books; Christmas cake, crisp spices, and more Vahronna dark chocolate; more teriyaki beef jerky, and honey garlic chicken wings; more cigar tobacco too.

Finish: long, elegant, meaty, and still old-churchy... chocolate, caramel sauce, Christmas Cake, and very tropical.

Comment: the nose was great, the palate and finish even better; this is a gorgeous old malt, from a distillery we almost never see bottled anymore... a shame to be sure... but would it be as special if not? it has been almost a decade since I've tried a new Glen Mhor bottling, and I've only tried a dozen or so... this is probably the best!

Whiskyfun Tasting Note (Serge)

Nose: so very antique, 'vintage', precious, polished, waxy… This is like entering an antique shop, full of old furniture, oil paintings, perhaps bicycles and motorbikes, early radio sets… The meatiness too is fantastic, we're having soy sauces, Marmite, Bovril, also suet, leek soup, old tobacco pouch, old leather jackets… With water: old hive, old books, library, furniture polish, humidor, mocha, chocolate, artichoke, cracked pepper, thin mints… Mouth (neat): but this is fresh and vibrant! We're extremely far from a dusty, tired old malt whisky that would be here just because it's rare (but G&M wouldn't do that, agreed), on the contrary, this is almost a bottled lesson to new distillers. Incredible complexity, meats, roasted chestnuts, chestnut honey, beef jerky, tar, tobacco, chocolate… It is stunning. To think that they closed the Distillery for good only one year after this glory was distilled. With water: oh, bergamots chiming in, tobacco, tangerine liqueur, dried apricots, very old brandy de Jerez… And countless other elements. Finish: Jaffa cakes and precious very old sweet wines that have digested their sugars. No names needed. Comments: I'm sorry but I didn't know this was going to be this good. What's more, this is an extinct style, unless new Distillers would… you can always dream… 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.