Gordon & MacPhail - BourbonSphere

15 Years of Texas Whiskey

Texas is booming as a whiskey region, with distilleries all over the Lone Star State. That history only goes back about 15 years, when pioneers… Read More

Texas is booming as a whiskey region, with distilleries all over the Lone Star State. That history only goes back about 15 years, when pioneers like Balcones Distilling and Garrison Brothers started out. During the recent 15th anniversary celebrations at Balcones, Texas Whiskey Festival co-founder Jake Clements moderated a panel (and tasting) on the first 15 years of Texas whiskey. We’re bringing you that discussion this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth, with panelists Jared Himstedt of Balcones, Dan Garrison of Garrison Brothers, Ironroot Republic’s Robert Likarish, and Ty Phelps of Andalusia Whiskey. In the news, The Lakes Distillery in England is being sold, while Edrington is selling off its Noble Oak American Whiskey brand.

Episode 1051: April 7: 2024

Ian Urquhart: 1948-2024

Ian Urquhart, a member of the third generation of Urquharts to lead Gordon & MacPhail, has died at the age of 76. Urquhart passed away… Read More

Ian Urquhart, a member of the third generation of Urquharts to lead Gordon & MacPhail, has died at the age of 76. Urquhart passed away March 15 in Elgin, Scotland. He was the eldest son of “Mr. George” Urquhart, and led the company as managing director from 1990 until 2007, when he retired to become non-executive chairman of the family-owned firm.

Ian Urquhart was responsible for Gordon & MacPhail’s acquisition of the mothballed Benromach Distillery in 1993 and its subsequent refurbishment. He presided over the distillery’s reopening in 1998 during a ceremony attended by then-Prince Charles, and was on hand when the first spirit flowed from the stills at the family’s new Cairn Distillery in 2022.

Urquhart also served as chairman for many years of the family’s other enterprise, the cashmere producer Johnstons of Elgin. He and his brother Michael were honored with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in Queen Elizabeth’s 2022 Platinum Jubilee honors for their services to the Scotch Whisky industry. Urquhart also received a lifetime achievement award from the Spirit of Speyside Festival, which he helped create 25 years ago.

Ian Urquhart is survived by his wife Nichola, his son Neil, who currently serves as non-executive chairman of Gordon & MacPhail, his daughter Jenny, his brother Michael and sister Rosemary Rankin, and five grandchildren.

Changing of the Guard at Ireland’s Midleton Distillery

Master Blender Billy Leighton’s recent decision to step aside from day to day work at Irish Distillers gave his longtime apprentice the dream job of… Read More

Master Blender Billy Leighton’s recent decision to step aside from day to day work at Irish Distillers gave his longtime apprentice the dream job of a lifetime. Dave McCabe is the new Master Blender for Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, and other Irish Whiskey brands, and we’ll talk with him on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, Irish Whiskey exports posted a decline in 2023, while Islay’s Ardnahoe Distillery is shutting down part of its visitors center. We’ll have the details on those and other stories, including another new distillery for Kentucky.

Episode 1039: January 14, 2024

Photo courtesy Irish Distillers.

2023: The Year in Whisky

A lot happened in the world of whisky during 2023, and with the help of WhiskyCast Community app members, we’ve identified the top ten whisky… Read More

A lot happened in the world of whisky during 2023, and with the help of WhiskyCast Community app members, we’ve identified the top ten whisky stories of the year. Join us as we count them down in the news, then listen as Milam & Greene’s Heather Greene shares her lessons on whisky entrepreneurship in WhiskyCast In-Depth. We’ll also have some of your year-end dramming choices in our Community segment, too.

Episode 1037: December 31, 2023

Links: Milam & Greene | Torabhaig Distillery | Smokehead | Lagavulin | Bruichladdich

Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Leads Week’s New Releases

Beam Suntory is releasing a new iteration of its Legent Bourbon, which combines Kentucky Bourbon with Japanese blending. The Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish is different… Read More

Beam Suntory is releasing a new iteration of its Legent Bourbon, which combines Kentucky Bourbon with Japanese blending. The Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish is different from the original in that the 8-year-old Bourbon was shipped to Japan, where Suntory chief blender Shinji Fukuyo came up with a complex finishing process. Part of the 8-year-old whisky was put into French Oak wine casks and Spanish Oak sherry casks, along with ex-Sherry casks that had been used to mature Yamazaki single malts. After a period of maturation, he then blended all three together with more of the original 8 year old Bourbon.

The Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish blend has a recommended retail price of $199.99 a bottle.

Gordon & MacPhail Port Ellen 1981. Image courtesy Gordon & MacPhail.

Gordon and MacPhail has introduced its second annual Recollection Series of whiskies from closed distilleries. There are 18 single malts from 15 distilleries in this year’s lineup, including a 1981 Port Ellen, a 1973 Glen Mhor, and a 1976 Banff single malt. All three distilleries closed 40 years ago this year.

Prices range from £360 for the 1998 Imperial all the way up to £10,000 for the Port Ellen bottling.

Other new whiskies announced this week…

The Glenlivet has released its first beer cask finished single malt, teaming up with craft brewer Innis and Gunn on the project. The Glenlivet team used casks that had been previously used to mature Innis and Gunn’s Vanishing Point Imperial Stout to finish a 9-year-old single malt. It’s part of the Glenlivet’s Distillery Reserve Collection, and is available at the distillery and through the Glenlivet’s web site for £95 a bottle…

The Macallan has released Litha, a single malt exclusively matured in first fill sherry seasoned casks. It’s only available in China for now, but can be purchased by the dram at The Macallan Estate in Scotland.

Amber Beverage Group’s The Irishman brand is out with its oldest age-statement whiskey yet The Irishman 22-year-old single malt is finished in Tawny Port barrels from Portugal, and is available exclusively at The Loop’s Irish Whiskey Collection shops in Dublin and Cork airports.

Douglas Laing and Company has released a new limited edition Rock Island blended malt finished in Plantation Rum casks. The whiskies in Rock Island come from the islands of Orkney, Arran, Jura, and Islay in Scotland, and the finishing casks came from Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad. It’ll be available globally with a recommended retail price of £65 a bottle…

Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery in England has released its fourth annual bottling to celebrate Yorkshire Day. The Filey Bay Yorkshire Day 2023 special release was matured in ex-Madeira and Bourbon casks – a change from previous Yorkshire Day bottlings that were sherry cask-matured. It’s available from the distillery’s shop and web site for £90 pounds a bottle…

Hood River Distillers has released a new McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt, matured for 6 years in Oregon Oak and four months in Oloroso Sherry Casks. It’ll be available in limited quantities at retailers in Oregon, Washington, New York, Colorado, Texas, and California, as well as online.

Finally, High West is out with a new edition of Campfire, its blend of rye, Bourbon, and blended malt Scotch whiskies. This year’s batch is the first include 100 percent High West-distilled rye in the blend.

As part of the release, High West is donating 50-thousand dollars to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation as part of its “Protect the West” initiative…

This story was published August 7, 2023. Image courtesy Beam Suntory.

Digging Into Scotland’s Whisky History

Thousands of illicit distilling sites exist around Scotland. Derek Alexander and his team of archaeologists at the National Trust for Scotland have barely scratched the… Read More

Thousands of illicit distilling sites exist around Scotland. Derek Alexander and his team of archaeologists at the National Trust for Scotland have barely scratched the surface of the country’s bothys, but their recent digs have uncovered some rare artifacts of illicit distilling’s past. We’ll catch up with Derek on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, The Balvenie’s longtime Malt Master, David Stewart, is standing down after 47 years in the post. The UK, Australia, and New Zealand all raised liquor taxes this week, and Suntory is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a “tiny house” tour of America.

Episode 1016: August 6, 2023

Photo courtesy National Trust for Scotland.

A New Era for Gordon & MacPhail

The 128-year-old family-owned independent bottler stunned the whisky world this week with news that it will stop sourcing new make spirit from other distillers starting… Read More

The 128-year-old family-owned independent bottler stunned the whisky world this week with news that it will stop sourcing new make spirit from other distillers starting next year. Instead, Gordon & MacPhail will focus on single malts from its two distilleries, Benromach and The Cairn in the future. With decades of maturing whisky on hand, the change won’t be felt for at least 12 to 15 years and Gordon & MacPhail will continue bottling older whiskies for decades to come. We’ll discuss the change in philosophy with G&M managing director Ewen Mackintosh on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. On Behind the Label, we’ll celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Excise Act of 1823, which directly led to today’s Scotch Whisky industry, and we’ll have tasting notes for whiskies from Bunnahabhain, Lost Lantern, and Dràm Mòr, too.

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Episode 1015: July 30, 2023

Image courtesy Gordon & MacPhail.

Gordon & MacPhail To Stop Filling New Make for Independent Bottlings

Gordon & MacPhail, the 128-year-old family-owned bottler and distiller, has shaken the whisky world with its announcement that it will stop sourcing new make spirit… Read More

Gordon & MacPhail, the 128-year-old family-owned bottler and distiller, has shaken the whisky world with its announcement that it will stop sourcing new make spirit from distilleries in 2024. For decades, Gordon & MacPhail has had agreements with distillers to buy new make spirit and have it filled into G&M’s own casks for maturing. In what managing director Ewen Mackintosh calls a “natural evolution” for the business, the company will put a greater focus on whiskies from its own distilleries, Benromach and The Cairn.

“The foundations of this decision were almost set back when we started the process of buying Benromach (in 1993), that need for the business to have security of supply of spirit,” Mackintosh said in an interview with WhiskyCast. “George Urquhart looked at buying a distillery many, many years ago and that eventually came to with Benromach,” he said. The company also sees less of a need for its independent and licensed bottlings, which were originally intended to feature distilleries that did not bottle their own whisky as a single malt. Now, with most distilleries selling at least one expression as a single malt, that puts them into direct competition with Gordon & MacPhail, something the company has historically tried to avoid.

The move comes as distillers become more stingy about selling new make spirit, preferring to keep it for official distillery bottlings. However, the effects of the decision will not be felt for many years while Gordon & MacPhail uses up its existing supply of maturing young whisky. The goal is to replace those young whiskies in the G&M range with whisky from The Cairn when it launches 12 years from now, while allowing the G&M brand to continue with much older whiskies.

“I know for a lot of whisky drinkers and people who know Gordon & MacPhail really well, it’s perhaps come as a bit of a shock, but I think it really is a positive step for us…it allows us to focus on our own brands, Benromach, and ready ourselves for the launch of The Cairn single malt in years to come and not lose sight of that Gordon & MacPhail whiskies will be part of our portfolio for many years to come,” Mackintosh said. He sees the natural evolution for new whisky drinkers as starting with The Cairn as the company’s entry level-malt, then moving up to Benromach and eventually to the rarer Gordon & MacPhail bottlings.

The decision also comes as cask supplies become increasingly tighter and more expensive, as it will allow G&M to use casks that had been destined for filling at other distilleries at Benromach and The Cairn instead. Mackintosh cited the fact that the company has good relationships with suppliers in Spain and Kentucky, but noted that costs keep going up as it becomes harder to source bodega-used Sherry casks.

Listen to the next episode of WhiskyCast for our interview with Ewen Mackintosh, who will be retiring from Gordon & MacPhail next spring.

Links: Gordon & MacPhail

This story was published on July 25, 2023.

Experiments in Whisky (Episode 1001: April 23, 2023)

Dr. Bill Lumsden has been experimenting at both Ardbeg and Glenmorangie distilleries. His latest Ardbeg release, Heavy Vapours, involved taking part of the distilling system out of the picture just because he wanted to see what would happen if he did. At Glenmorangie, he has a whole year’s worth of projects for his experimental Lighthouse distillery. We’ll catch up with whisky’s mad scientist on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Scotland’s controversial alcohol marketing restrictions have been sent back to the drawing board, while the equally controversial deposit return scheme for bottles has been pushed back to next March. Read More »

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