The Glenlivet 70 Years Old

The Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 Years Old is the only whisky to be shortlisted in this year’s Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards, widely regarded as the Scottish food and drink industry’s ‘Oscars’.

The Glenlivet 70 Years Old was released by Gordon & MacPhail in 2011 as an addition to its ‘Generations’ range.

The range features the world’s oldest and rarest Scotch single malt whiskies and this is the second 70 year old single malt to be released by Gordon & MacPhail.

It also has the distinction of being one of the oldest single malt Scotch whisky in existence.

This cask of The Glenlivet was laid down on 3rd February 1940, on the instruction of John Urquhart, grandfather and great-grandfather of the company’s current owners.
Since then, successive generations of the Urquhart family waited for the day when it would be ready to share with fellow whisky lovers. And now, 70 years on, the whisky has been bottled at a cask strength of 45.9%.

David Urquhart, joint managing director of Gordon & MacPhail, said: “This nomination is recognition of the Glenlivet 70 Years Old’s superb quality, luxury and its rarity.

“The cask this whisky came from was laid down by my grandfather in 1940 and it was carefully watched over by successive generations of the Urquhart family until we decided to bottle it ourselves 70 years later.

A limited number of bottles were released by Gordon & MacPhail in 2011, creating excitement among whisky connoisseurs across the world.

Only 100 70cl decanters were released, selling at around £13,000, the smaller, 20cl decanters sold at £3,500.

Each bottle is beautifully presented in a tear-shaped hand-blown crystal decanter with an elegant British Hallmarked silver stopper. The decanter nestles in a sterling silver base and is framed in a handmade box, crafted in Scotland using Scottish elm.

The Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards will be held on Thursday 24 May in Dunblane, Stirlingshire.

Tasting note Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 Years Old

Appearance: Deep amber, with tawny lights.

Aroma: A mild nose-feel. The first aroma is of an old cocktail cabinet, with Sherry notes predominating; polished wood, soft leather and a trace of candle wax. Behind this are fruity notes, lightly baked apples (even Tarte Tatin), but also fresh orange juice, and just a thread of smoke or ash in the distance. Adding a drop of water suppresses the fruity notes and slightly enhances the sweetness (now tablet) and smokiness.

Taste: A waxy, teeth-coating mouthfeel; smooth and voluptuous. The taste is sweetish to start, then savoury, with a trace of salt – might this be a rare example of ‘umami’ in whisky, the elusive fifth primary taste? The finish is long, with a faint smokiness in the aftertaste. Drinks well at natural strength. With a drop of water the flavours remain intact.

Development: Fades gracefully towards vanilla fudge and sanded wood.

Comment: A stupendous whisky! Although it resonates with aged character – and, indeed, characteristics from another era – it retains vitality, both on the nose and on the palate.