Four extremely rare Speyside whiskies chosen jointly by members of the third and fourth generations of the Urquhart family have been released under the prestigious Private Collection Ultra by Gordon & MacPhail and 1 of each is available from The Whisky Shop Dufftown priced at £6250. They all have the same bottle number if the set is required.
The whiskies are:
• A 61 Year Old Linkwood, the oldest ever released, from cask No.279, selected by retired director Rosemary Rankin and her son Stephen Rankin, Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of UK Sales,
• A 62 Year Old Glenlivet initially matured in first fill Hogshead before being transferred to another first fill Hogshead in January 1969, selected by retired Managing Director Ian Urquhart, his son Neil, Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Logistics and Facilities, and daughter Jenny Houldsworth, who is a Non-Executive Director of the company.
• A 63 Year Old Mortlach from the company’s last cask of 1951 Mortlach, selected by retired Joint Managing Director David Urquhart and his twin sons Stuart, Gordon & MacPhail’s Whisky Supply Manager, and Richard, Export Sales Executive
• A 57 Year Old Strathisla, the oldest ever released, selected by current Managing Director Michael Urquhart and his daughter Laura Urquhart, Gordon & MacPhail Brand Manager.
The four whiskies in the Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection Ultra are presented in beautifully-designed decanters, individually numbered, with the whisky details engraved and in-filled with silver colour. A silver-plated neck collar and stopper adorns each decanter.
Wood, metal and glass are combined in a striking and innovative way to protect and display the whisky; the decanter nestles in a glass-bottomed pack, revealing a hint of the whisky colour.
A series of four books by whisky writer Jonny McCormick, one for each of the whiskies, tells the story of Gordon & MacPhail and the whisky and regales the reader with tales of origins and ancestry, of people, place and belonging.
Working with Gordon & MacPhail The WSD has produced it's first bottling and it's a real stunner. Being based in Dufftown our first bottling had to be a Mortlach. This cask strength non coloured non chill-filtered Mortlach is from a Refill Sherry Hogshead. It was selected by The Whisky Shop Dufftown owner Mike Lord. We've nicknamed it 'The PM' , the peated Mortlach (well it is election time in the UK), as it has a defined smokiness which was described by one expert as like cigar smoke. Until the end of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival it will be on offer at £40.00 per bottle (price after that £45.00).
We hope to work with other companies in the future to make available exclusive single cask malt whisky which is a bit different!
Tasting Notes
Nose: A complex noise of fruit cake and freshly baked chocolate cookies with further layers of plums, raisins, spearmint, menthol and hint of smoke from a heather bonfire.
Taste: Very rich and creamy in the mouth with flavours of chocolate fruit and nut, rum and raisin ice cream, honey and in the background definite phenol notes.
Finish: Long with a dark chocolate and raisins with a smoked chipotle chilli edge.