Gordon & MacPhail "Mr George Legacy" (4th Ed) 65yo 1958 Glen Grant [Tasted #660]

It was almost a year ago to the day I tried Gordon & MacPhail's "Mr George Legacy" 3rd Ed, a 63yo Glen Grant from 1959, and the third in the excellent "Mr George Legacy" series. Many thought that was the final release in the series, but here we are 12 months later, and G&M have honoured their second generation "Mr George" Urquhart (arguably the father of single malt whisky's popularity) with another release - this time a 65yo from 1958.

Sticking with tradition, this release is again a Glen Grant, bottled from a single cask (a first-fill Sherry butt laid down by "Mr George" himself in 1958) at 56.5% in November 2023. Cask No.3818 produced just 376 bottles, slightly more (but more or less in the ballpark) as the rest of the "Mr George" series, meaning like the releases before it, this will no doubt be a hard bottle to acquire.

Stuart Urquhart, Operations Director at Gordon & MacPhail, said: 

“My grandfather had a particular affinity with Glen Grant Distillery. Local to our home in Elgin, Mr George had a strong relationship with the owners and distillers through the decades and he enjoyed experimenting with different casks to complement the distillery’s lighter spirit style."

This edition’s packaging and support campaign is themed around having the courage of conviction, symbolised by ‘The Lone Oak’. Mr George’s approach – to age whisky for as long as it needed – was seen by some as eccentric during his lifetime. The theme celebrates this philosophy of occasionally going against the grain but always standing firm to one’s principles in pursuit of perfection. 

With scores of 92, 92 & 94 for the previous 3 releases respectively (& 95 for the original "Mr George Centenary" release) there's some serious pedigree to live up to....so does it? Let's find out...

Gordon & MacPhail "Mr George Legacy" (4th Ed) Glen Grant 65yo 1958 (56.5% ABV, 65yo, Single Cask, Speyside, Scotland, One of 376 bottles, £7,000)

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Colour: Deep, dark coffee-burgundy

Nose: Richly oaked sherry, but with a real fruit vibrancy. Cherries, cola, spices and old books too - an amazing mix of "old" and "fresh". Cocoa, coffee beans and sweet coffee notes follow. An incredibly intoxicating nose.

Palate: True to the nose. There's cherry, cola bottle lollies, oak, coffee beans, licorice twists and a flamed orange peel. After time, some sweeter orange cream emerges. Leather and rich dark chocolate. It's all here. The alcohol is present, but extremely well-integrated, never seeming overbearing or "hot" (despite the realtively high ABV). I'll often taste a whisky with an incredible nose, but a lacking palate. Here, the nose matches the palate in terms of character and quality. Amazing. A friend referred to this as "elegant" and that's exactly what it is.

Finish: Extremely long, with herbal hints of old oak, and coffee beans.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100 (Martin). The best of the "Mr George" series to date, in my opinion, and so so close to the "Mr George Centenary" (still one of my favourite whiskies of the last 5 years). Just a beautiful, beautiful dram.

A big thanks once again to G&M & WS for the sample.

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #657: 1959/1960 GlenDronach Gordon & MacPhail

It's no secret I'm a big GlenDronach fan, considering them to be one of the few remaining distilleries where value can still be found (even though the older single casks are a bit punchy these days..), and a distillery delivering quality well above some of their peers.

Between Hendy and I we've covered plenty of expressions on the blog, but for the most part they've been modern releases. On a few occasions I've been lucky enough to try some vintage bottlings, and they've almost always been spectacular, especially this 18yo dumpy for the Japanese market - one of my most favourite 'dronachs ever...until now.

As good as that dumpy was (along with the 70s single casks, excellent 1993s and other interesting IBs), they've all been overtaken - by this fascinating vatting of 1959 and 1960 distilled GlenDronach, bottled by G&M in 1986 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.

It wasn't that long ago you could pick up vintage miniatures for significantly less than they should've been (the market's cottoned-on now, unfortunately) and whilst miniatures are always a gamble, I'd say I'm at about a 95% success rate. This one held up perfectly, and I think cost me all of £20...

Gordon & MacPhail 1995/1960 GlenDronach (to commemorate the marriage of H.R.H Prince Andrew to Miss Sarah Ferfuson on 23rd July 1986) (40% ABV, Single Malt, NAS but ~28yo, Speyside Scotland)
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Colour: Dark copper-brown.

Nose: Hugely expressive for 40%. Some OBE (Old Bottle Effect) but also rich coffee grounds, a sweet Vietnamese coffee note, varnish, leather, and overall so fresh and clean. Even some slightly herbal / grassy notes appeared, after some time.

Palate: Overripe oranges, crisp sherry, glazed orange slices, sherbert, cherry chews, marzipan and red apple. A mixed bag of fruity deliciousness.

Finish: Medium in length, with oak only showing to the end, alongside some sweet BBQ notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100 (Martin). Absolutely fantastic. Incredible this is only 40%!

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #594: 1957 "Moon Import" Bowmore (TimeforWhisky 10 Year Anniversary Dram)

Our 4th 10th Anniversary Dram dram (and first, but not last from this distillery) is a 1957 Bowmore from Italian Independent Bottler Moon Import.

Many whisky fans will be familiar with Samaroli, and the legendary independently bottled whisky they released in the 1970s to 1990s, but there were other equally legendary Italian independent bottlers at the time - Sestante (later Silver Seal), Nadi Fiori's Intertrade, and Moon Import to name the most notable ones. Whilst the latter is probably most well-known for its "Birds" series, they produced several other bottles as well, including this 1957 Bowmore, bottled in 1990 at 32-33 years old.

My love of Bowmore is no secret (especially to anyone who follows our Instagram) and as much as I love the older, tropical style Bowmores, particularly those from the 1960s, they're not exactly easy or cheap whiskies to procure these days. In a WhiskyFun article on a legendary Bowmore tasting (which I wasn't at, but which included this exact bottle) Angus MacRaild said  "I would hazard that Bowmore from the 1950s and 1960s is still recognised as one of the greatest spirits ever produced by mankind." 

It's pretty hard to ague.

I was fortunate enough to try this bottle thanks to the significant generosity of @whisky_is_better_aged (a name that'll come up again during these 10th anniversary tastings) - once in 2019, and again more recently.

"Moon Import" Bowmore 1957 (40% ABV, 32-33yo, Islay, Scotland, £8,500+)

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Colour: Vibrant yellow gold.

Nose: Oh my goodness, this is tropical fruit heaven. Guava at first, then passionfruit. Some slight oat cake hints, then it's back to the fruit - pineapple, more passionfruit. There are some faint floral notes too. It's definitely got character, but there's a light delicateness to it as well (no doubt at least in part due to the 40% ABV).

Palate: More of the fruit from the nose - pineapple most predominantly, but there's guava, passionfruit (in spades) and mango to a slightly lesser extent. There's also a faintly BBQ-esque meaty note, and a slight salinity that reminds you of where this whisky originated. For me though, the fruit dominates, and whilst the whisky (bottled at 40%, now with 32 years of bottle ago) is undoubtedly full of flavour, you can't help but think it would have just that little more with some additional ABV, maybe.

Finish: Medium to long in length, with a residual sea-salt smoked passionfruit note.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Ticks a lot of the tropical fruit notes I love, and is technically a very respectable whisky. Whilst I hate to default to the old "this would be better at a higher ABV" chestnut...I would have loved to try this around 50% ABV.

See you here tomorrow for #5!

Cheers,

Martin.

Gordon & MacPhail "Private Collection 1952 from Glen Grant Distillery Platinum Jubilee Edition" 70yo [Tasted #568]

It's been less than a month since I wrote about this 64yo 1957 "Mr George Legacy" 2nd Edition Glen Grant, and if that was the oldest whisky I was to try this year, I'd consider it a pretty good year....but the fine people at Gordon & MacPhail had other plans, and were kind enough to send a sample of something even more special, commemorating an event that most of us will likely never again experience in our lifetimes.

I'm talking about the Queen's Platinum (70th) Jubilee, and the Gordon & MacPhail "Platinum Jubilee Edition" 70yo 1952 Glen Grant, bottled for the occasion. Not the oldest whisky we've tried on the site, but impressively, the equal second.

Bottled on the 6th February (the same date as Her Majesty's accession to the throne) after maturing for 7 decades in a first fill Sherry butt, the whisky serves as a fitting tribute to Her Majesty, having served the same amount of time on the throne.

Distilled on 26th January 1952, and bottled 70 years later at a cask strength 52.3% ABV, the "Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection 1952 from Glen Grant Distillery" sees just 256 bottles released worldwide, with a recommended retail price of £20,000, available from Gordon & MacPhail's own online shop in the UK, and no doubt Master of Malt for International buyers in due course. No word yet on Hong Kong or Australian pricing.

In support of the Queen’s ‘green canopy’ initiative and building on the successful 2021 partnership with Scottish charity Trees for Life we mentioned here, Gordon & MacPhail is donating a further £20,000 from the proceeds of the release.

 

So having well and truly established the whisky's suitability for such a momentous occasion, let's find out how it tastes...

Gordon & MacPhail "Private Collection 1952 from Glen Grant Distillery Platinum Jubilee Edition" 70yo (52.3% ABV, 70yo, Cask #381, One of 256 bottles, Speyside, £20,000)
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Colour: Mahogany gold.

Nose: Fresh leather, waxed apples and juicy sultanas, followed by orange marmalade. Give it time (as you must always with such an old and complex whisky), and herbal notes (mint predominantly) and cigars emerge.

Palate: Hugely rich and mouthfilling, there are initial wisps of smoke, followed by dark chocolate, then milk chocolate, cigar humidor, oranges (orange cakes actually), then slight hints of mint. After time, notes of blackcurrant emerge. It's not an in-your face sherry bomb, it's more of a subtle, complex, evolving sherried dram. Impressive, hugely impressive.

Finish: Long and minty, with lingering grapefruit hints and minimal oaky notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Not quite the same intensity of sherry in the 64yo 1957 "Mr George Legacy" 2nd Edition, more of a subtle, intricate dram giving layers of different notes as time goes on. A fitting tribute to Her Majesty if ever there was one.

Cheers,

Martin.