GORDON & MACPHAIL GENERATIONS

GORDON AND MACPHAIL: 125 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Established as a grocery business in 1895 in the heart of Scotland’s Speyside region, the founders, James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail, originally curated all manner of groceries from around the world such as teas, coffees, wines and whisky. Their appreciation of the rich tapestry of flavours they encountered led them to seek out and complement this varied stock with equally fine products in the form of Speyside’s many and varied single malt Scotch whiskies.

A young John Urquhart joined the business as an apprentice under the founders. Urquhart quickly established himself as a valuable associate for James Gordon in selecting, purchasing, and maturing whiskies from local distilleries. John also assisted with the creation of house blends for the shop’s customers across the Speyside area. Over his long career dedicated to sourcing flavour both from home and abroad, John Urquhart developed his skills as a master of malt whisky maturation, building an impressive portfolio of maturing whisky casks. He was able to pass on this deep knowledge and passion for single malt Scotch whisky to his family.

Under the expert tutelage of his father, George Urquhart joined the business in 1933. Like his father before him, young George began at the very bottom: cleaning, sweeping, and stacking. Through carefully nurtured relationships with local single malt distillers and a deep understanding of the spirit that they produced, John and George Urquhart were able to focus on the importance of maturation. They matched spirit to the highest quality oak casks maturing the whisky, often over many decades.

With excellent stocks of whisky, the business survived the ravages of WWII. In fact, they released large quantities of our stocks of mature whiskies for shipment to USA. These whiskies brought in needed funds that were applied towards the war effort. Their foresight in filling large amounts of whisky in the late 1930s and early 1940s meant they had healthy stocks when peace was finally declared in 1945.

In the late 1960s, George Urquhart took the unprecedented step of launching a range of single malts from across Scotland distilleries bottling them under the banner of 'Connoisseurs Choice'. Aimed at the emerging markets of France, the USA, Italy, and The Netherlands, all having developed a love for well-matured single malt Scotch whisky, this range set the trend for single malts around the world. As many as 63 distilleries featured in this range. 

                        

In the 1970s and ‘80s, the business expanded significantly. Led by UK Sales Director at the time David Urquhart, the company grew its wholesale business throughout Scotland, then further afield in the United Kingdom. To support this rapid growth, operations were shifted from the offices above the South Street shop to custom-built offices and duty-paid warehouses – named George House – at Boroughbriggs Road in 1991.

Alongside an unrivalled knowledge of Scottish single malts and passion for matching spirit with oak, the Urquhart family held a long-standing ambition to own a distillery. This desire became a reality in 1993 with the purchase of the Benromach Distillery on the outskirts of Forres, just twelve miles from the steps of the shop in Elgin. After five years of careful and deliberate re-equipping, Benromach Distillery was officially reopened by Prince (now King) Charles in 1998.

GENERATIONS

The name ‘Generations’ signifies the many decades these whiskies have been left to mature and the four generations of company ownership by the same family. The 'Generations' range presents some of the longest-matured single malt Scotch whisky ever bottled; landmark chapters in Scotland’s liquid history. Previous ‘Generations’ releases include:

2010: Generations 70 Years Old from Mortlach Distillery;

2011: Generations 70 Years Old from Glenlivet Distillery;

2012: Generations 70 Years Old from Glenlivet Distillery (release two);

2015: Generations 75 Years Old from Mortlach Distillery;

2021: Generations 80 Years Old from Glenlivet Distillery, presented in partnership with Sir D. Adjaye OBE.

GENERATIONS MORTLACH 70 YEARS OLD 

On 11th March 2010, Gordon & MacPhail made history by launching Generations Mortlach 70 Years Old, the world’s oldest bottled Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Unveiled at an exclusive event at Edinburgh Castle, the release sparked international media interest and all large decanters were either sold or reserved within two weeks by collectors and whisky enthusiasts worldwide.

GENERATIONS GLENLIVET 70 YEARS OLD

On the 8th March 2011, Gordon & MacPhail released the 2nd in the Generations series Glenlivet 1940 70 Years Old. This is a single Speyside malt of unique provenance and outstanding quality. Resonating with aged character – and, indeed, characteristics from another era – it retains vitality, both on the nose and palate. A stupendous whisky! It also epitomises family values, built on generations of expertise in single malts.

GENERATIONS GLENLIVET 70 YEARS OLD (RELEASE 2)

                     

On the 20th of September 2012, Gordon & MacPhail released Generations Glenlivet 1940 70 Years Old (Release 2). This second, and final, release from cask 339 created worldwide interest as it offered one last chance for collectors and consumers to own a piece of Scotland’s liquid history. The product was exclusively available at Vancouver International Airport until its worldwide release on 1 November 2012. Vancouver International Airport is a gateway between the Far East, North America and Europe.

GENERATIONS MORTLACH 75 YEARS OLD

On the 2nd of September 2015, Gordon & MacPhail released the next in the Generations range, Mortlach 75 Years Old. The curtain was raised on what is believed to be the world’s most exclusive single malt Scotch whisky at a unique event at the Royal Opera House in London. Members of the third and fourth generation of the Urquhart family poured the single malt for the guests before Charles MacLean, whisky connoisseur, invited everyone to join them in tasting the whisky, describing it as “Smooth and highly sophisticated – elegant as a grande dame…the Ingrid Bergman of malts!”

THE WORLD’S OLDEST SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

GENERATIONS GLENLIVET 80 YEARS OLD

The world’s oldest whisky, an 80-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch from Glenlivet Distillery that was bottled by Gordon & MacPhail was auctioned by Sotheby’s on 07 October 2021. This whisky, distilled in 1940, has been cared for by the G&M family for decades and has finally been bottled through collaboration with internationally acclaimed architect and designer, Sir David Adjaye OBE. Adjaye designed a unique decanter and oak case around the theme ‘Artistry in Oak’ – a fitting tribute to this landmark moment for the industry – in which to house this inimitable spirit.

Also on offer with Decanter #1 of the Gordon & MacPhail Generations 80-Years-Old release estimated at HK$800,000-2,000,000 will be a singular whisky-tasting experience for four in London, conducted by Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, Stephen Rankin and attended by Sir David Adjaye, in addition to the framed original cask head of Cask 340 which cradled the spirit for eight decades, and a one-of-one signed lithograph of Adjaye’s original concept drawings.    

As part of their release of 250 decanters, Gordon & MacPhail is supporting a local charity, Trees for Life whose mission is to rewild the Caledonian forest. Proceeds from the sale of Decanter #1 will be donated to resource the Trees for Life nursery which grows 100,000 rare, native trees, including oaks, from seed each year.

February 3rd 1940 was to become a landmark day in Scotland’s liquid history when George Urquhart – from the second generation to own the company – had the foresight and vision to lay down spirit from Glenlivet Distillery in a bespoke Gordon & MacPhail oak cask to be enjoyed after his lifetime by future generations. When the tree harvested to make Cask 340 started its life, Queen Victoria was a newlywed, Tsar Nicholas I ruled Russia and Abraham Lincoln was a young lawyer practising out of Springfield, Illinois. The cask reached Scottish shores in 1940, as WWII raged in Europe, having initially held freshly pressed grape juice, then newly fermented wine, before being emptied and filled with mature Sherry for bottling in the UK.

George Urquhart passionately believed that each cask needed to be left to reach its full potential, and only when the whisky was deemed ready should it be shared. The optimum time for Cask 340 was to be 80 years – longer than any other Scotch whisky in history. Adding an extra layer of rarity to this release, in 1940 the Ministry of Food cut malt whisky distilling by one-third to ration barley for the war effort, and production of Glenlivet fell by two-thirds. On 5 February 2020, the decision was taken to bottle the cask’s bounty, which had been nurtured over eight decades by four generations of the Urquhart family.

Integral to the whisky-making process, oak is also the traditional symbol for celebrating an 80-year anniversary and was therefore a fitting choice of material for the case. In his own words, Sir David Adjaye’s design “pays tribute to the role oak plays in transforming liquid into an elixir with almost magical properties” and brings the narrative full circle – the light refracted through the pavilion-like enclosure when the casing is opened recreates sunlight as its shines through oak trees within a natural forest setting.

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