1400.0 GLENLIVET 1943 (70 YEARS)
Gordon & MacPhail’s Glenlivet 1943 is the part of their Private Collection, marking important milestones during World War II.
On January 14, 1943, at The Glenlivet distillery in Scotland John and George Urquhart selected a first-fill Sherry hogshead cask—Cask 121—to be filled with a single malt Scotch and then stored in the distillery. The whisky remained at the distillery for 24 years before being transferred to Gordon & MacPhail’s warehouses in Elgin in 1967, according to Gordon & MacPhail. Cask 121 stayed untouched there for another 46 years before Stephen Rankin, director of the company and John Urquhart’s great-grandson, decided it was time for the whisky to be bottled. On June 11, 2013, over 70 years later, the rare elixir was poured from the cask—but it wasn’t until now that this exceptional whisky.
The Glenlivet 1943 is one of the oldest single-malt malt whiskey in the world, only 40 bottles globally, was bottled at a 49.1% abv.
This rare whisky 70 years has a rich chestnut brown in color, with great balance and approachability. A full, fresh flavor of dark chocolate, oranges, and oakiness intermingles with treacle and licorice and culminates with a subtle, ashy smokiness and an incredibly long finish.
The design of the Glenlivet 1943 won the Gold award in the Scotch whisky category of The Spirits Design Masters 2017. The whisky is bottled in a hand-blown decanter featuring gold engravings of the land surrounding the Glenlivet distillery, and a presentation box depicting the River Spey, showing the journey of time and physical journey of the cask from its birthplace at the Glenlivet distillery to the Elgin by Gordon & MacPhail.
The four base of oak is both a symbol of the four elements used to make whisky: water, barley, yeast and wood. At the same time demonstrating the four generations of the Urquhart family – the owner of Gordon & MacPhail, has nurtured this special barrel for seven decades.
Decanter is centered on the box, the base and cork made of gold, engraved with curves that symbolize hills and light around the Glenlivet distillery.
The inside of the box is elegantly lined, also engraved with the same curves as on the cork. Hidden inside is a book written by Jonny McCormick whisky author. Opposite is a signed certificate and numbered by Stephen Rankin – the Director and member of the Urquhart family.
