Independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail (G&M) has unveiled two of the ‘oldest ever’ whiskies released from closed distilleries St Magdalene and Dallas Dhu as part of its Summer Collection.
Bottled under the company’s old and rare Private Collection label, the ‘lost’ single cask whiskies are joined by malts from Longmorn and Mortlach distilleries.
Stephen Rankin, director of prestige at G&M, said: ‘Our Private Collection whiskies embody the expertise, skill and patience that has been passed down over four generations of my family.
‘My grandfather, George Urquhart, recognised an opportunity to match new make spirit with carefully selected casks at a time when the vast majority of production went into blends.’
The Gordon and MacPhail 1982 from St Magdalene distillery was laid down in a refill American oak hogshead, one year before the distillery closed in 1983, before being bottled at 53% abv.
Said to be full of ‘waxy lemon, zesty lime and ripe banana’ notes, just 161 bottles of this whisky have been produced, priced at £1,000 each.
The 1969 bottling from the closed Dallas Dhu distillery was matured in a refill Sherry hogshead, bottled at 43.1% abv.
Said to contain notes of ‘dark chocolate and mouth-warming cracked peppercorns’, only 176 bottles of the Dallas Dhu expression will be available, priced at £6,950.
Old and Rare: Only 398 bottles of this 53-year-old Longmorn have been produced
The 1966 bottling from Longmorn distillery is a 53-year-old single cask malt matured in a first-fill Sherry butt.
Bottled at 46% abv and priced at £6,950, just 398 bottles have been created.
The final Private Collection whisky in the Summer Collection, the 1954 Mortlach was matured in a first-fill Sherry hogshead before being bottled at 44.4% abv.
Priced at £9,950, only 286 bottles have been produced.
All four limited edition whiskies are available to purchase in the UK, EU, Asia and Oceania from specialist retailers, while the Longmorn bottling is also available in the US.
The Summer Collection also contains a selection of other releases from G&M’s Connoisseur’s Choice range, including a 1989 Balblair, a 1993 bottling from Clynelish and a 1995 Royal Brackla.
The full Summer Collection range can be viewed on the G&M website.
Housed in crystal decanters and veneered wooden presentation cases, G&M’s Private Collection whiskies underwent a redesign in November 2018, one of several changes the bottler made to its ranges that year.
