Gordon & MacPhail Recollection Series #3: 1984 Convalmore, 1981 North Port & 1991 Rosebank [Tasted #680 - 682]

A look back over our Gordon & MacPhail-tagged posts shows it's been a pretty great past few years when it comes to trying incredibly long-aged, well-matured whiskies here at TimeforWhisky.com. In addition to one-off bottlings in the the 60 Year Old, 70 Year Old and even 80 Year Old age ranges, we've also been introduced to "The Recollection Series" of whiskies - #1 in 2022, #2 in 2023 and now, hot off the press, comes Series #3.

These series feature single malts originating from closed, or long-time silent distilleries, with spirit matured in bespoke asks commissioned by G&M. 

Series #1 and #2 saw us taste some incredible drams like Glen Mhor from 1973 and 1982, 1982 St Magdalene, 1981 Port Ellen & 1981 Lochside, so whatever was in store for Series #3, we knew it would be good.

...and we weren't wrong. With 6 expressions this time around, the series is a little smaller, but no less impressive, featuring:

• Rosebank 1991 – RRP £2,100
• Glenlochy 1979 – RRP £4,000
• Convalmore 1984 – RRP £2,300
• Imperial 1990 – RRP £1,650
• North Port 1981 – RRP £3,850
• Port Ellen 1981 – RRP £10,000

Featuring eye-catching, bold new packaging, G&M calls the whiskies ‘forgotten masterpieces’ and ‘lost works of art’, with the distilleries’ spirit revived using stunning illustrations from Emmy-award winning artist, Bruno Mangyoku. 

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

“This year marks our third Recollection Series, which again brings a carefully chosen selection of rare and unique whiskies to enthusiasts worldwide. We’re fortunate enough to have access to a liquid library which is testament to the relationships we’ve nurtured with whisky distillers for almost 130 years.

We’re proud to be able to revive the spirit of these historic distilleries, bringing their stories back into the present day.”  

Gordon & MacPhail "The Recollection Series #3" Rosebank 1991 32yo (51.2% ABV, 32yo, First Fill Bourbon Barrel #2114, Lowland, Scotland, One of 141 bottles, £2,100)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A distillery called Rosebank was operating as early as 1817. From 1840, under the ownership of the Rankine family, Rosebank prospered, however the distillery eventually closed its doors in 1993. It was reopened under new ownership to great fanfare in 2024. This release is one of the oldest and rarest Rosebank single malts ever released.

Colour: Light sunset gold.

Nose: Light and tropical, with orange, banana and pineapple. As a kid I used to love Golden Circle Tropical Punch fruit juice, and this nose took me straight back to those primary school playground days.  It's a subtle nose though - slowly revealing itself. After time, some lemon slice shows through too.

Palate: Fruity maple syrup? There's a rose-flavoured note, and in the background (subtle) pineapple and banana. 

Finish: Mango and guava! Big time, and long. I recently tried a single cask Springbank (interestingly the same age) and it also had this hugely tropical finish 

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). The highest score I've ever given to a Rosebank? Probably. Feels like it's the best I've tried.

Gordon & MacPhail "The Recollection Series #3" North Port 1981 42yo (50.9% ABV, 42yo, Refill American Hogshead #2072, Highland, Scotland, One of 132 bottles, £3,850)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single malts featuring the distillery’s original name, Brechin Distillery, are vanishingly rare. Founded in 1820 near Scotland’s east coast by three brothers, David, John and Alexander Guthrie, the distillery stood half a mile from the River Esk. It remained in family ownership for over a century, renamed North Port Distillery, before new owners closed its doors in 1928. It reopened after the Second World War only to fall silent again in 1983, with the site demolished in 1994. 

Colour: Light amber gold

Nose: Instantly, that well-matured, balanced, incredibly complex nose that shines through on so many of these older G&M releases. There's oak, there's fresh fruit (orchard fruits, peaches, apples) with slightly tropical undertones, nuttiness, fresh pear, and (with a drop of water) some pineapple, apricot and more peach.

Palate: Follows the nose just beautifully, with the oak and fruit in perfect harmony, alongside some gingerbread, mandarin, apricot and graceful oak.

Finish: Very, very long, with a slightly drying oak note and (after a drop of water), some peach.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100 (Martin). Now THIS is whisky. Just a beautiful dram.

Gordon & MacPhail "The Recollection Series #3" Convalmore 1984 39yo (51.1% ABV, 39yo, Refill Sherry Hogshead #1733, Speyside, Scotland, One of 108 bottles, £2,300)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Opened as the fourth of Dufftown’s famed seven stills in the heart of Speyside in 1894, Convalmore’s waxy, fruity spirit has very rarely been seen as a single malt whisky. Dedicated almost entirely to blended whiskies, production was interrupted in 1909 by a fire. The distillery expanded in 1964 but was mothballed in 1985. The original buildings are still on the site but the production equipment has been removed. 

Colour: Rich mahogany.

Nose: Muted at first, but after some time it turns into a rich and elegant display of mocha, leather, fresh berries, berry compote and toffee.

Palate: Mature oak with noticeable, but not overpowering sherry notes. Flamed orange zest, black forrest cake, sherry-soaked cherries, cigar humidor, milk coffee and to round things out, hints of dried apricot.

Finish: Long, balanced oak with citrus hints.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). My love for Convalmore continues.

For more information on Gordon & MacPhail or the Recollection series, visit www.gordonandmacphail.com.

Many thanks again to G&M who kindly provided the tasting of these three beautiful single malts, and & Weber Shandwick for the arrangement.

Cheers,

Martin.

A very personal experience with the new Rosebank 30 Year Old "Release 1" [Tasted #493]

The launch of a new 30yo Scotch whisky would generally be exciting enough on its own. An OB from a closed distillery, even more so. The launch of the new Rosebank 30 Year Old 1990 however was a particular special experience for me, as I was fortunate enough to be one of only 6 people around the world chosen to be part of the launch video, sharing the screen with noted spirits journalists such as Alice Lascelles (FT), Felipe Schrieberg (Forbes) and Mamoru Tsuchiya (Head of the Japan Whisky Research Centre).

Joining some of the world's most authoritative sources on whisky and spirits was pretty special, as was the whole experience of filming the video (eagle-eyed Hong Kong readers might recognise the setting as Tiffany's New York Bar, a favourite of mine), but the real treat was being able to taste the whisky months before the official release. The hard part, of course, was not being able to talk about it until today!

The first in a series of annual, limited releases, Rosebank 30 Year Old 1990 Vintage has been bottled un-chill filtered at 48.6% ABV, from casks laid down in 1990 (62% refill sherry butts, 38% refill Bourbon hogsheads) - just a few years before the distillery closed in 1993. These bottles will be marked "Release One", with each year seeing a new release leading up to the first "new" Rosebank spirit to run from the stills, now that Ian Macleod Distillers has taken over Rosebank and plan to re-open the distillery.

4,350 bottles are available, with a retail price of £1,600. As a fun way to engage buyers, Rosebank is also giving the first 200 people to scan the QR code on the neck collar of their Release One bottle the the opportunity to enjoy a dram of Release Two, and the chance to receive an early link to purchase Release Two before the general release. 

So...how does it taste?

Rosebank 30 Year Old "Release One" (48.6% ABV, 30yo, Lowlands, £1,600) 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Colour: Bright yellow gold.

Nose: Big, rich, and lively. Orchard fruits, green apple, slight hints of mango and peach (baked peach pie), almonds, vanilla, and nectarine.

Palate: The fruit really dominates - it's not tropical, more orchard, with peach, apricot, pear, and undertones of vanilla. My mum used to make a fruit compote for Christmas, with sherry-soaked pears, apricots, nectarines etc.. and this 100% took me back to those Christmases. Has some slight oak undertones, but very balanced.

Finish: Long, lingering orange peel and a slight hint of oak at the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Delicious. A whisky that really brought back some memories.

A huge thanks to Ian Macleod Distillers and Wire (and especially Vicky) for the chance to be part of this awesome launch.

Cheers,

Martin.

A visit to Diageo's Johnnie Walker House Singapore

A few weeks before my recent trip to Singapore, Diageo were kind enough to invite me to "Johnnie Walker House", to experience something which, until that point, I'd only seen glimpses of via Instagram.

Unlike the Jonnie Walker Houses in Mumbai, Taipei and select other airports, Johnnie Walker House Singapore is a private affair - open by invitation only, and designed for Diageo's private clients.

Located within Diageo's Singapore offices, the House is a tastefully decorated suite overlooking the historic trading port of Boat Quay (where the very first Johnnie Walker bottles would have arrived in Singapore in the 1800s), providing a nice link back to the earliest days of the brand. A large-format coffee table book ("bible" may be more apt) also provides insights into the brand's history in Singapore, whilst a video conferencing link allows customers to get real-time insights into the operation of some of Diageo's distilleries today.

Diageo's Private Clients team use the House to demonstrate their higher end, often more bespoke offerings, including personal cask ownership and signature blends. Basically, this isn't where you go to pick up a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue...

Upon entering the House, you're greeted by a large flavour map, mapping out Diageo's 39 malt distilleries (28 operating, 11 closed) in terms of profile. You may not agree with the all the placements, but you'll have to take it up with Dave Broom, as he mapped each distillery.

Against the far wall sits a showcase of Diageo's more exclusive products, including high-end Johnnie Walker blends (think the ~$48k USD McLaren Mercedes Edition and $200k USD Diamond Jubilee), followed by an overview of JW's "Signature Blend" program, allowing customers to determine their preferred flavour profile via a series of tastings, which Master Blender Dr Jim Beveridge then interprets into a custom JW Blend, drawing on the 8 million+ casks at his disposal.

Further along sat a curious bottle of Port Ellen (below) - clearly not part of the annual "Special Releases". I learnt that this was a bottling from Diageo's "Casks of Distinction" program - an incredibly limited program through which customers can purchase an entire cask from select distilleries, and choose to either bottle it, or continue ageing it (in Diageo's bonded warehouses) for bottling at a later date. 

The casks and distilleries available vary over time, but do occasionally include closed distilleries like Port Ellen and Rosebank, alongside operational distilleries like Lagavulin.

To have your own, private cask of Port Ellen and Rosebank bottled with your name would be pretty special...and the packaging certainly seems to befit the exclusivity, with bottles packaged in wooden 6 bottle crates, accompanied by a chest containing crystal glassware.

Having thoroughly toured the House and learnt all about Diageo's most exclusive offerings, there was only one thing left to do....taste!

I'll save the tasting notes for another post, but suffice to say, tasting 6 "Special Releases" bottlings (including 2016's 37yo Port Ellen and 38yo Brora, as well as a delightfully unique 40yo Cambus) was a pretty fantastic way to end a wonderfully detailed insight into the world of Diageo's bespoke offerings.

A huge thanks must go to Diageo and Ketchum for their hospitality during my visit (and of course, for the generous tasting).

Cheers,

Martin.