Gordon & MacPhail Commemorate Landmark Series With New Releases
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of its ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range, family-owned whisky creator Gordon & MacPhail is expanding the range with a series of single malts aged 30 years and above.
George Urquhart pioneered the ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range in 1968, at a time when few whiskies were bottled as single malts. Presenting these new releases as a range effectively invented a category of sourced and independently bottled single malts in a market which, up to then, had been dominated by blends. In the late 1960s the ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range provided a platform for many of Scotland’s single malt distilleries, some of which had never before been released as single malts.
Over the past five decades, almost 100 of Scotland’s distilleries have been represented across more than 2,000 separate bottlings under the ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ banner, encompassing the entire spectrum of single malt flavors and profiles and ultimately featuring spirits from many distilleries that have been closed for decades.
The new series of ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ releases is aged to a minimum of 30 years and features single malts from distilleries such as Mortlach, Caol Ila and Linkwood, among others. Available in decanter-style bottles inside engraved wooden presentation boxes, each whisky has been selected for bottling by Associate Director of Whisky Supply, and grandson of George, Stuart Urquhart.
Gordon & MacPhail is also releasing three new expressions in its new ‘Discovery’ range, meant as a starting point for whisky drinkers to explore the wide diversity within single malt Scotch. The latest releases are from the Ledaig, Bunnahabhain and Tomatin distilleries.
Prices for the new ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ releases start at approximately £75 RSP, rising to around £500 for the premium expressions, dependent on taxes and import duties. Whiskies in the ‘Discovery’ range retail at £50.
