Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection 1949 from Milton Distillery 72 Year Old [Tasted #580]

My admiration of Gordon & MacPhail has been well documented on this blog - not just for the quality and variety of independently bottled whisky they release, but for their respect for Scotch Whisky, stemming from their 125 years as an integral part of the industry, across four generations.

Part of that respect includes ensuring the utmost historical accuracy, exemplified by their latest release, the 72 year old "Private Collection 1949 from Milton Distillery".

"Milton Distillery" you say? Confused? I was too...

Strathisla may be known as the most picturesque distillery in Scotland, but it turns out it was only officially named Strathisla in 1951 - prior to that, it was (you guessed it) Milton distillery. So whilst G&M could have called this Strathisla (known for their high-quality, well-aged malts), they chose to keep things accurate and use the name under which the whisky was distilled - Milton.

Gordon & MacPhail's relationship with Strathisla/Milton goes back more than a century, and in 1949 (19th May, to be precise), being well familiar with the distillery's liquid, they filled a first-fill Sherry puncheon (made to G&M's specifications), intended for long-term maturation.

"Long-term" was certainly what they got, as the whisky wasn't bottled until 6th January 2022, 72 years later, yielding 180 bottles at 48.6% ABV.

Gordon & MacPhail "Private Collection 1949 from Milton Distillery" 72yo (48.6% ABV, 72yo, Cask #383, One of 180 bottles, Speyside, £TBC)
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Colour: Deep orange gold.

Nose: Subtle aged sherry, seville oranges, well-aged cigars, with a slight herbal grassiness. After time, some spiced butterscotch becomes noticeable.

Palate: Initial subtle oak tannins quickly give way to overripe oranges, cigar box notes and cut grass. Stewed fruits (pear and apricot predominantly) show, along with apple pie with a hint of spiced honey. 

Finish: Long (no surprises there!) with the spiced honey continuing to the end, alongside the slightest hint of smoke (more of a BBQ meat smoke).

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Another sublime whisky from G&M which defies conventional thinking about whisky and "optimum age". Yes, these casks were built to "go the distance", but to find such nuanced drams at over 70 years old, and without any overt oak influence, continues to impress me.

Cheers,

Martin.

Chivas Regal Ultis Sydney Launch (Tasted #329)

Walking into Palmer & Co, Merivale's renowned small bar tucked away in one of Sydney’s oldest lanes, one could easily mistake the bar for something more akin to the "House of Chivas Regal". Plastered across the room were Chivas Regal bottles, Chivas Regal mementos and five special Chivas stations. What was about to take place was the special launch of Chivas Regal Ultis, Chivas Regal’s first blended malt expression - though certainly not the first in the industry, with Johnnie Walker Green, Monkey Shoulder and various Compass Box expressions having already represented the segment for some time.

The launch celebration was rather special as not only was the occasion to celebrate the new Ultis expression, but also to celebrate Chris Evans (better known as Captain America) as the new Asia Pacific Ambassador for Chivas Regal, and Michael Klim as the Australian Chivas Regal Ambassador. Both Chris and Michael co-starred in Chivas Regal’s "Win the Right Way campaign" which launched in 2014 to help recognise and advocate for the power of shared success - or simply the message that real success is not measured by a one's wealth alone, but by how many lives one has enriched.

The name Ultis, derived from ‘Ultimate’ and ‘Fortis' (Latin for ‘strength’) was bestowed upon the new blended malt expression, which sees five Speyside malts from Chivas Brothers’ portfolio (Tormore, Longmorn, Strathisla, Allt A’Bhainne and Braeval) selected to form the whisky. The malts were specially selected by Chivas' blending team as a tribute to the work of the five generations of Masters Blenders that have worked on the Chivas brand and its distinct style since 1909. As Chris Evans highlighted on the day, Ultis is simply a "Whisky with people at its heart!”

What I truly loved at the launch were the five Chivas stations with each station representing the individual malts that help form Ultis, along with different sensory experiences that all related to the individual malt. The deliciously fruity and sweet Longmorn was well represented with pears, vanilla pods, honeycomb and milk chocolates whilst over at the Straithisla station we saw stone fruits and nuts visually describing the nutty nature of Chivas’ foundation malt.

Speaking to a few bloggers and Pernod Ricard representatives at the event, we discussed the on-going challenge that the whisky industry has with transparency. This is a topic that is at the heart of Compass Box's continued efforts to challenge the status quo by disclosing additional detail on the composition of their blended malts. The Ultis launch saw a move to do something similar by exposing the five individual malts and allowing an appreciation of the five individual malts in addition to the final blended expression. Although the percentage composition of the five malts was not disclosed, it is perhaps a step in the right direction. Having come onto my whisky journey only a few years ago, I am certainly an advocate for such transparency as it allows a deepening of my appreciation of the final expression.

Check out more photos from the launch event at our Facebook page.

Chivas Regal Ultis (40% ABV, NAS, Speyside, Scotland, AUD$198.90 / ~ AUD$265 for 1L Travel Retail, from December)
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Ultis is a delicious and balanced blended malt and having tasted some of the individual malts at the launch, the final expression clearly reflects different characteristics from the contributing single malts. Time and place? A comfy lounge with few good mates celebrating a momentous occasion.

Colour: Deep, dark caramel.

Nose: The nose is beautiful and loaded with sweet and fruity notes. There are hints of apple, apricot, toffee fudge, vanilla, burnt orange and cinnamon.

Palate: The palate is soft and mellow to start before opening up notes of apple, toffee followed by warming burst of spices; cardamon, cloves and black pepper.

Finish: A warming medium sweet and velvety finish.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100.

Chivas Regal Ultis 700ml will be available from November through selected retailers and from December at Duty Free retailers in a Travellers' Exclusive 1 Litre bottling.

Cheers,
Hendy.

TimeforWhisky.com would like to thank Pernod Ricard and Eva McKenzie of One Green Bean for the invite to the launch of the Chivas Regal Ultis.

Tasted #260 - #263: Chivas Regal "The Icon" (and Strathisla, Glen Keith and Longmorn single casks)

Back in December last year we attended the Hong Kong launch of Chivas Regal "The Icon", which launched in Australia and Hong Kong last year and is shortly to launch in the UK.

The launch event was incredible, but the real treat came after lunch, when ourselves and 7 lucky other individuals were treated to a tasting of The Icon with Master Blender Colin Scott. Held in one of Foxglove's many stunning private rooms, the tasting was opened by Stephen Notman (IWSC judge and founder of Whisky Live Shanghai / Taipei and "Whisky L") who took us back 100 years, describing the origins of Scotch whisky as we know it (and the 3 year minimum aging rule set by the Immature Spirits Act), the rise of Scotch throughout the 1900s, and the more recent rise of "ultra premium blends".

Colin then took the stage, to talk us through the origins of "The Icon" (the idea of which was first hatched in 2014, designed to feature "nuggets" of mothballed / closed distilleries), an overview of Chivas Brothers' immense selection of casks, which total over 6 million, and left us with a quote that, whilst simple, we thought neatly summed up the difference in character between blends and single malts:

"A blend is looking at a person, a single malt is looking at a distillery"

Simple, but true.

It was then time to dive into our tasting of "The Icon", but not before the rare opportunity to taste three unique single cask expressions of Strathisla, Glen Keith and Longmorn - malt whiskies which all help to make up Chivas Regal blends.

Glen Keith 1990 single cask - 1st fill ex-Bourbon barrel (40% ABV, 26yo, Speyside, Scotland, not commercially available)
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Colour: Bright yellow gold.
Nose: A real "summertime whisky". Passionfruit, vanilla cream. Lots of peaches, some strawberry, and even some pine needles.
Palate: Oranges, nuttiness (peanuts). Slight hint of smoke. More peaches. Orange taffy. Very smooth and easy drinking (being cut to 40% no doubt helps).
Finish: Long, whole oranges, with hints of asparagus at the very end.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. A fairly complex yet easy drinking, light whisky.

Longmorn 1987 - 2nd fill ex-Oloroso Sherry butt (40% ABV, 29yo, Speyside, Scotland, not commercially available)
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Colour: Copper.
Nose: There are plenty of traditional sherry notes here - rich christmas pudding, cherries, raisins, but there's a freshness too. Fresh laundry(!), with some strawberry hubba bubba.
Palate: Honey, noticeable oak, spice, cinnamon, Sriracha sauce. A few drops of water adds a slightly fruitier, strawberry note.
Finish: Earthy and slightly metallic.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. Nice but in comparison to the amazing 20-30 year old Oloroso-matured whiskies we've tried before, it didn't quite reach the same lofty heights.

Strathisla 1980 - 3rd fill American Oak hogshead (40% ABV, 36yo, Speyside, Scotland, not commercially available)
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Colour: Orange gold-copper.
Nose: Citrus zest - orange peel, and almonds.
Palate: Banana, toffee, caramel and passionfruit.
Finish: Long, tropical, creamy. Passionfruit and whipped cream.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. A real dessert whisky.

Chivas Regal "The Icon" (43% ABV, NAS, Blend, Scotland, $4,699AUD / $28,800HKD / £2000GBP)
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Colour: Golden-copper.
Nose: Stewed pairs, toffee, oranges. Terry's Chocolate orange (loads of it). A honey sweetness.
Palate: Quite sweet, velvety, creamy. Smooth swiss milk chocolate, with a slight nuttiness. A hint of confectionary too - boiled lollies, Allen's Fantales.
Finish: Long and sweet, sherberty, with residual hints of milk chocolate.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Not quite what I'd expected at first - much sweeter. There's complexity here, sure, and it's an extremely enjoyable dram, but out of this lineup, I'd take another glass of that Strathisla first. I'd love to try the The Icon at a higher ABV though, perhaps 46 or 48%.

Cheers,
Martin.