Whisky Focus - Gordon & MacPhail Unveil Twin Private Collection Longmorn 1961 Whiskies

Elgin based and still family owned and run whisky creator Gordon & MacPhail has announced the release of two decanters as part of its ‘Private Collection’, single cask releases personally selected by members of the family that owns the company.

The ‘twin’ whiskies, two Longmorn 1961 single cask whiskies and the oldest Longmorn single malts ever released, were rather appropriately selected for bottling by identical twin brothers Stuart and Richard Urquhart from stock originally laid down to mature by their grandfather George Urquhart in 1961.

The two whiskies will be sold as a pair, only 97 sets of twin decanters are available worldwide with a UK recommended sales price of £30,000. Both single malts were matured in first fill Sherry hogsheads and bottled at cask strength. Richard Urquhart’s whisky from the European Oak Cask 508 was bottled at 45% ABV, while the whisky from American Oak Cask 512, selected by Stuart Urquhart, was bottled at 40.8% ABV.

Each individually numbered hand-blown decanter of Longmorn 1961 is beautifully presented in award-winning packaging, and is accompanied by a book written by renowned writer and rare whisky specialist, Jonny McCormick, along with a personally signed certificate of authenticity from each brother.

The Longmorn twin casks offer a unique opportunity to explore the effects of different oak types on spirit during maturation.

The whisky selected by Richard Urquhart, nurtured in European Oak, is mahogany with red highlights; it is said to have a rich, abundant nose, with complex aromatic flavours and perfumed top notes.

The whisky selected by Stuart Urquhart is slightly lighter in colour, rich chestnut with ruby and amber highlights. Matured in American Oak, it is sweeter on the nose and fruity on the palate with notes of black cherry, raspberry, and dried vanilla.

Stephen Rankin, Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, fourth generation member of the Urquhart family and himself a father of twins, said: "This is a unique and exclusive opportunity to taste a remarkable piece of Scotland’s liquid history. Owners of these twin decanters will be able to explore the similarities and nuances of the oldest Longmorn single malt Scotch whiskies ever bottled."

Stuart Urquhart, Gordon & MacPhail’s Associate Director of Whisky Supply, added: "As someone whose day-job is applying the family’s knowledge of how to match spirit with the perfect cask, the nuances of our Longmorns, distilled 57 years ago, were especially intriguing. For example, the whisky I selected has a slightly spicier finish."

Richard Urquhart, Gordon & MacPhail’s International Sales Manager for Asia & Americas, said: "For much of our lives, Stuart and I have shared similar environments, growing up together and sailing competitively as a team, as well as working under the same roof. However, as we’ve matured it’s intriguing to see how our individual characters, much like the whiskies, have differed."

The twin decanters complete the release of four extremely rare single cask bottlings unveiled as part of the ‘Private Collection’ range. The first, Private Collection Glenlivet 1943 by Gordon & MacPhail, a rare wartime cask, was released in October 2017 and the second, Private Collection from Linkwood Distillery 1956 by Gordon & MacPhail, was released in February 2018.

Those of you familiar with Gordon & MacPhail will be aware that they have a well established reputation for releasing some outstanding, mature, hidden gems from Longmorn in the past, they seemed to know long before anyone else, even the distillery owners, about the quality of whisky that was produced at Longmorn and if they have selected these twin Longmorn 1961 single casks as being special I wouldnt doubt it.

If your pockets are deep enough, the twin Private Collection Longmorn 1961 decanters will be available from specialist online whisky retailers such as The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt
 

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