Gordon & MacPhail has added a 74-year-old whisky from The Glenlivet to its Private Collection range.
The Gordon & MacPhail 1949 from Glenlivet Distillery was laid down in a refill sherry butt (chosen by the Elgin-based retailer and bottler) on New Year's Day 1949 and bottled in March 2023 at cask strength of 49.3% ABV. Only 192 bottles of the whisky will be available, priced at £35,000 each.
It is among the oldest bottlings of The Glenlivet ever released by Gordon & MacPhail – and will be its last 1949 cask from the Speyside distillery.
Scotch whisky expert and writer Dave Broom said of the new release: “To find a whisky of this age is absolutely extraordinary. What comes across immediately is the fruit – there’s richness and there’s depth. You have this wonderful interplay of distillery character, of oak and oxygen. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.
“When you taste it, you taste time. You can taste all the vintages and everything that’s happened. The concentration of fruits, the layers, and the complexity are off the scale.”
Ewen Mackintosh, managing director at Gordon & MacPhail, said: “Patience, knowledge, skill, and a commitment to quality are all principles exemplified in this greatly aged single malt. Gordon & MacPhail 1949 from Glenlivet Distillery is extremely scarce – our very last cask of Glenlivet from 1949, making it a must for whisky enthusiasts looking to savour a remarkable greatly aged single malt exuding layers of character and decades of maturation expertise.”
Following an exclusive launch at Le Clos at Dubai International Airport, the Gordon & MacPhail 1949 from Glenlivet Distillery goes on worldwide sale on 19 September.
It comes after Gordon & MacPhail announced that it would stop filling new casks for independent bottlings in 2024 to instead focus on spirits from its two distilleries, Benromach and The Cairn.
