Tatler Dining+ Gordon & MacPhail
Whisky experts Gordon & MacPhail announce the release of this historic liquid, set to be auctioned for a good cause in Hong Kong
Whisky connoisseurs have a chance to own a dram of history as Gordon & MacPhail launch the longest-aged single malt Scotch on the market—Generations 80-Years-Old from Glenlivet Distillery. Limited to only 250 decanters worldwide, decanter number one will be auctioned by Sotheby’s Hong Kong at the Autumn Sales on 7 October. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Scottish charity Trees for Life, which aims to rewild the Scottish Highlands by restoring the Caledonian Forest.
It’s fitting that this release should have a long-lasting legacy, as Gordon & MacPhail—experts in whisky maturation since 1895—have long believed that ‘the future is shaped by what you do today’. When John Urquhart and his son George laid down the whisky from Glenlivet Distillery in a bespoke cask on 3 February 1940, they did so knowing full well that it would be enjoyed by future generations after their lifetime.
Nurtured by four generations of the Urquhart family, Gordon & MacPhail finally bottled Cask 340 on 5 February 2020 after 80 years of maturation—longer than any other single malt in history. This release joins the family business’ Generations range—the longest-matured single malt Scotch whiskies, which together capture some of Scotland’s most iconic moments of liquid history.
This unwavering rigour and obsession to always ‘do right by the whisky’, undeterred by commercial necessity, means only the highest quality oak casks are picked for ageing, and a single malt is only released when more than 125 years of expertise determines it’s ready. Gordon & MacPhail’s whiskies are often the oldest expressions released from a particular distillery. "The fact that whisky from that time even exists today is a miracle," Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, Stephen Rankin, tells Tatler Dining, highlighting the unbroken Urquhart family lineage that has made the preservation of Cask 340 possible.