G&M Glen Grant 1959 Mr. George Legacy 3

Tasting Notes

Producer Tasting Note

"On the nose, fragrant autumnal spice aromas intertwine with sweet, dried fruit and demerara sugar. To taste, notes of stewed red fruit flavours lead to Seville orange with a hint of garden mint followed by tart raspberry, cocoa powder accompanied by mature oak. A full finish on the palate with lingering cinnamon and forest fruits."

Distillery

The following was writted by Andrew Ferguson for the December 2022 issue of Celtic Life Magazine!

In a way, it is surprising that I haven’t previously written an article about the Glen Grant Distillery. Not because Glen Grant isn’t an exciting brand - it isn’t (although it is a unique and beautiful distillery that does produce some very fine spirit) - but because, until only recently, official bottlings of Glen Grant were all young and primarily only available in Italy. This has now changed, with the distillery having rolled out a proper age-stated range. What truly makes Glen Grant noteworthy, however, is its connection with another brand, Gordon & MacPhail, the preeminent independent bottler of Scotch whisky.

Gordon & MacPhail started as a grocer in 1892, but very early on began buying and selling whiskies from the Speyside region under their own label. For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, blended Scotch was king; distilleries did not produce malt whisky for sale as single malt, but rather as a component for blended whiskies. Over time, the company’s bottlings, from dozens of distilleries, came to be seen as semi-official bottlings. Long before the distilleries saw fit to bottle their own whiskies, they were bottling single malt from the likes of Glenlivet, Longmorn, Macallan, Strathisla, and many others.

Gordon & MacPhail continues to bottle more than a dozen single malts under their ‘Distillery Labels’ range today, and none more prolifically than Glen Grant. At the start of my career, 40-50 something Glen Grants distilled in the 1940s and 1950s could be had for just a couple hundred dollars a bottle. They raised the bar in 2012 when they bottled a 60-yearold Glen Grant to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. In the decade since, they have bottled at least a dozen more Glen Grants at 60 years of age or more, all of which are among the oldest whiskies ever bottled. Glen Grant was founded in Rothes in 1839 by a pair of brothers from Elgin - John and James Grant.

It is rumored that John may have been involved in illicit distilling before going legit. The distillery was massive for its day, and the brothers were very well connected. James was Lord Provost of the City of Elgin, a position which certainly did not hinder the construction of a rail line connecting Elgin to the port at Lossiemouth.

They also personally funded the construction of the extension south from Elgin to Rothes. They named the distillery, and, by association, the small Glen it sits in, after themselves. This is surprisingly uncommon among the more than 120 active distilleries in Scotland. To this day, there is just one other distillery named after an actual person.

The distillery rose to greater prominence under John’s nephew, James “The Major” Grant, who took over in 1872. He had spent some time in Africa, much of it hunting big game, and brought back a young orphan by the name of Biawa Makalaga - as one did at the time - whose own story has become a local legend. Like his uncle James, ‘The Major’ was an engineer, and he made some design changes which set the distillery apart; notably, tweaking the shape of the stills and installing a spirit purifier, both of which helped shape the light fruity spirit Glen Grant is famous for today. He also had electric lighting installed, powered by turbines at the distillery.

One of the distillery’s features that can still be enjoyed today is the African themed botanical garden installed by ‘The Major.’ It is full of exotic plants and stylized African huts. One of these huts sits next to the burn in a small gorge at the back of the garden. A small safe is carved into the rock, in which a special bottle was kept for the Major and his guests. I visited the distillery back in the mid 2000s, and as a special treat, the safe was opened for me. I was mildly disappointed to find a young distillery-bottled Glen Grant, rather than a Gordon & MacPhail bottling with some age on it.

The Glen Grant Distillery is located in the town of Rothes, a picturesque 20-minute drive south of Elgin. It is open for distillery tours most of the year, which include access to its beautiful garden. The distillery’s core range bottlings such as the 12 and 18-year-old are good and increasingly widely available, but if you want something truly exceptional, look for one of Gordon & MacPhail’s older sherry matured Glen Grants. The firm recently released the Glen Grant 1952 Platinum Jubilee, a 70-year-old whisky celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s seven decades on the throne. It is available from specialist shops around the world for $35,000.00.

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.