Gordon & Macphail have unveiled the second edition in its Mr George Legacy series, a 64-year-old single cask. The independent bottler’s series is named after George Urquhart, a member of the second generation of the family that owned the company who is credited with helping popularize single malt Scotch around the world.
The second edition in the Mr George Legacy Series was distilled on October 10, 1957 at Glen Grant, and spent its entire life in one a first-fill sherry butt, cask No. 3,483. It was bottled on November 9, 2021 at cask strength of 56.1 percent ABV.
“In some industry quarters my grandfather was fondly thought of as slightly eccentric due to his relentless focus on maturation, painstakingly selecting the right cask to match with each particular spirit,” said Stuart Urquhart, grandson of Mr George and Gordon and MacPhail’s operations director. “He was intrigued to know how long the whisky might take to reach its peak and would have known he might not be around when that moment came. That is his legacy to our family and to whisky drinkers who love the rich complexity of the ultra-aged single malts he laid down decades ago.
“The latest release in the Legacy series comes from Glen Grant distillery, for which my grandfather had a particular affinity. Local to us in Speyside, Glen Grant was the first distillery to use a purifier in distillation which resulted in a lighter spirit. Back in the 1950s, the spirit would have been slightly smoky due to floor maltings and a small level of peat being used – which is a style rarely seen in today’s modern Speyside whiskies – giving this whisky a charred oakiness that is perfectly balanced by long-term maturation in a Sherry cask made of American oak.”
Tasting notes include fruitcake, baking spice and orange marmalade on the nose, with a mixture of cherry, tobacco, mint and a touch of anise on the palate. “This is a gorgeous whisky, rich and multi-layered, still vibrant and vital in spite of its great age,” said whisky expert and author Charles Maclean in a press release. “A worthy tribute to the man who first drew the world’s attention to the glories of single malt—Mr. George Urquhart.”
Only 298 bottles of this single cask whisky are available and are priced at £6,000. For more information, head over to Gordon & MacPhail’s official website.
In May 2021, Gordon & MacPhail unveiled a 67-year-old single malt from Glen Grant as the first edition in the Mr George Legacy Series.