Gordon & MacPhail has launched a 1984 single malt from Glenury Royal Distillery, the second of four commemorative Whiskies the independent bottler is releasing to celebrate its 125th anniversary.
Hailing from the shuttered Stonehaven distillery in the eastern Highlands and laid down on Thursday, June 7, 1984, the 35-year-old Gordon & MacPhail 1984 from Glenury Royal comes from the last cask of the make maturing in the Gordon & MacPhail’s warehouse. It has been fully matured in cask number 2335, a first-fill Sherry Butt. No spirit has been distilled at Glenury since 1985, when it closed its doors for the final time and was demolished after a history stretching back 160 years. Founded in 1825 by Captain James Barclay, the suffix ‘Royal’ was added due to the owner’s friendship with King William IV.
“Since 1895 Gordon & MacPhail has released single malts from over 100 distilleries, many of which are lesser-known or closed,” noted Stephen Rankin, a fourth-generation member of Gordon & MacPhail’s owning family and the company’s Director of Prestige. “The anniversary series is a true homage to this endeavour.”
A rich amber in color, the Whisky features aromas of stewed fruit, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and toasted oak. On the palate, the Whisky provides sweet orange peel, cherry, burnt sugar and dried fig giving way to a medium and fruity finish with notes of aniseed and sherry. The medium finish is fruity with lingering aniseed and Sherry influences.
Just 397 bottles of the Gordon & MacPhail 1984 from Glenury Royal will be made available worldwide. Bottled at 49.1% ABV, the Whisky is priced at £1500 ($1960 USD).
It joins a 1972 Coleburn whisky launched in September. Located just four miles from the company’s Elgin home, Coleburn was founded in 1897 and produced Whisky until it closed in 1985. Only 363 bottles of the 47-year-old Whisky will be made available.
The remaining two whiskies in the anniversary series are set to be revealed in November and December.