Gordon & MacPhail releases 74YO whisky

Scotch brand Gordon & MacPhail has added a 74-year-old single malt from Glenlivet Distillery to its Private Collection.

Gordon & MacPhail 1949 from Glenlivet Distillery was laid down in a refill Sherry butt on New Year’s Day 1949 and bottled on 6 March this year.

Each bottle is priced at £35,000 (US$43,000), with 192 available for sale.

It’s one of the oldest Glenlivet whiskies released by Gordon & MacPhail and its final 1949 cask from the distillery.

Earlier this year, the Scotch producer released another 74-year-old single malt to celebrate the King’s coronation, from Speyside distillery Glen Grant.

Gordon & MacPhail 1949 has an ABV of 49.3%, with sweet, stewed fruit aromas that combine with cinnamon, aged leather, clementine and beeswax polish.

On the palate, autumnal spices and fruitcake are balanced by cracked pepper, with undertones of garden mint, dark treacle and charred oak.

Dave Broom, whisky writer, said: “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. You’d think it’s an old whisky but it’s not just an old whisky. It’s an extraordinary whisky.”

Dubai International Airport will exclusively sell the whisky from 1-19 September, after which it will be available worldwide.

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.”

Founded in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail has bottled spirits from more than 100 Scottish distilleries and matures single malts in its own casks for many decades.

Last year, a single malt from the brand became one of the most expensive whiskies to sell at auction.