Independent Scotch whisky bottler Gordon & MacPhail has gone the very old Scotch single malt route, recently releasing a 67-year-old whisky bottled in honor of the “father of single malt.”
Only 355 bottles have been made available of the Gordon & MacPhail ‘Mr George Legacy’ 1953 from the Glen Grant Distillery. This is the first edition of a single-cask release planned each year from Glen Grant. This 67-year-old whisky was laid down on instruction of George Urquhart, or “Mr. George,” as he was known in whisky circles.
Mr. George was a member of the second generation of the family that owns Gordon & MacPhail, and this release marks the culmination of the company’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
Mr. George travelled far and wide from the 1950s, it was said by the brand, introducing a variety of Scotland’s single malt whiskies to countries around Europe at a time when the vast majority of stock was used for blending purposes. Word spread, and Gordon & MacPhail’s Elgin location became an important stop for delegations from the U.S. and Japan, among others, looking to strike export deals.
Distilled on Christmas Eve 1953 and spending its whole life in cask no. 4209, a first-fill Sherry butt, the first edition of the Legacy Series was bottled on Tuesday, Jan. 5th, 2021, at cask strength of 118.8 proof, which is higher than normal given the age of the whisky. It will retail for £5000.
Gordon & MacPhail’s official tasting notes show that on the nose, the deep mahogany whisky has soft aromas of beeswax polish, stewed fruit, and hazelnuts. The taste is of warming autumnal spice, with notes of plum, blackcurrant and treacle. This gives way to a long, lingering finish with fruit, spice and a hint of bonfire embers.
Glen Grant was specially selected as the first single malt in the Legacy series as Mr. George held a particular fondness for the Speyside distillery.
Stephen Rankin, grandson of Mr. George and Gordon & MacPhail’s current director of prestige, said in a prepared statement that “my grandfather possessed a passion for taking single malts beyond these shores. Over many decades, he built and nurtured close relationships with some of Scotland’s leading distilleries and proudly took as much as he could carry on his international trips. I have fond memories of joining him, meeting new people, and telling stories about the casks he’d chosen to bring out the best in the different types of spirit.”
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