At the end of 2025, Gordon & MacPhail broke yet another whisky record with the release of the world’s oldest single malt. The expression is a remarkable 1940 vintage from The Glenlivet, aged for an almost unbelievable 85 years.
The bottle was first unveiled at Whisky Live Paris in 2025, and at November’s Whisky Live Singapore I was lucky enough to see it in person. Priced at £125,000, it officially became the oldest single malt whisky ever bottled, narrowly surpassing the previous 84-year record held by The Macallan Time : Space.
Even more incredibly, G&M had a few samples of the record-breaking whisky available as part of a raffle. Against all odds, I won one.
So how does the world’s oldest single malt whisky actually taste? And can any bottle ever be worth £125,000? Let’s take a look.
The Barrel
Distilled on 3 February 1940, this single first-fill American oak sherry cask is nothing short of remarkable. The wood itself came from a tree planted in the American Midwest in the early 1800s. By the late 19th century it had been coopered into an oak cask and used as a transport vessel, carrying sherry to the UK before being emptied and shipped back to Spain for refilling.
This old-growth oak, combined with decades of seasoning with sherry and unusually thick staves, created a cask perfectly suited for extremely long maturation. The result was an environment capable of nurturing a single malt whisky for generations.
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The Glenlivet
Cask #336 was filled with spirit from The Glenlivet in February 1940, just one month after the British government began rationing barley to preserve food stocks during the war. With the UK forced to prioritise its food supply, the distillery was allocated only a third of its usual malted barley quota, making this 1940 vintage even rarer.
At the time, the distillery was led by Captain Bill Smith Grant, a descendant of founder George Smith, who established the distillery in 1824. Production in this era relied on Glenlivet’s own floor maltings and direct-fired stills, producing a robust, characterful spirit well suited to long maturation.
Gordon & Macphail
Independent bottling, as we know it today, evolved from the grocers and whisky wholesalers of Scotland. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was common for local shops to keep casks of whisky in the corner of the store. Customers would bring their own jug, draw whisky straight from the barrel, and take it home. Over time, many of these grocers expanded into blending, and some grew into the giants of Scotch whisky such as Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker.
The Elgin-based grocer Gordon & MacPhail took a different path. Rather than building a large blending empire, the company focused on maturing individual casks of whisky. Alongside Cadenhead’s, they are widely regarded as pioneers of modern independent bottling, purchasing spirit from distilleries and eventually releasing those casks under their own label.
Gordon & MacPhail developed a distinctive approach. Instead of buying mature whisky, they sourced the casks themselves and filled them with new make spirit purchased directly from distilleries. These newly filled casks were then matured in G&M’s own warehouses under their supervision, giving the company full control over the wood, the warehouse conditions, and the length of maturation. The cool climate of Speyside has allowed them to age whisky extraordinarily slowly, resulting in some of the oldest single malts ever bottled.
Review
Nose:
Beautiful old wood varnish leads the way, followed by caramel nougat and treacle tart. It feels vibrant, almost effervescent, and surprisingly powerful for the ABV. It reminds me of bourbons from the 1940s, old Old Grand-Dad or Stitzel-Weller bottlings, though without the familiar vanilla sweetness. Wood polish and oak are prominent but never overwhelming. The tannins are clearly present, yet well integrated and not excessively dark.
After 15 minutes:
The nose evolves dramatically. Old pool hall tobacco appears alongside an intensely herbaceous character. What begins tight, powerful, nutty, and slightly raw gradually softens, revealing layers of wood varnish and star anise.
Palate:
Apple skins and the worn leather of vintage Chesterfields in a low-roofed English pub. Sharp citrus notes emerge, lemon peel alongside Scottish buttered shortbread. The texture sits somewhere in the middle, neither thin nor overly dense. There is noticeably less dry oak on the palate than expected.
Finish:
Not especially long, but it carries enough weight to maintain presence. It fades with dry apple skins, herbaceous orchard fruits, and a light dusting of oak.
Verdict
Is this the best whisky ever bottled? No, not even close. But for a spirit that spent eight and a half decades in a barrel, the power and balance are astonishing. Rumours suggest Gordon & MacPhail still have two more of these 1940 vintage casks, and they are working toward a 100-year-old expression. This 85-year-old shows they are clearly on the right path.
As I received this sample through a raffle rather than from G&M directly, I hope I have been able to judge it as objectively as possible. It is a remarkable whisky. You’ll notice that I have intentionally omitted discussion of the packaging in this article. Whilst it is presented beautifully, I wanted to really put the focus on the whisky. It is flavourful and a genuine piece of history, but it is not the greatest liquid ever made.
At £125,000, any bottle of whisky serves more as decoration than liquid to actually be consumed. That said, G&M have earned this one after patiently waiting more than eight decades to release it.
Thanks to the Whisky Live Singapore and G&M teams for making this experience possible. I hope I will be around to taste the 100-year-old when it finally arrives.
