If you’ve ever wanted to take a trip back in time with a friend or loved one but found the price of a DeLorean too high, there’s another option that fits right in your glass: Gordon & MacPhail Recollections Series.
Now in its third iteration, Recollections is an annual release of rare single malts. But if you’re wondering why you’ve never heard the name, it’s because there Gordon & MacPhail isn't a distillery. It's an independent bottler that purchases rare casks of whisky from operating distilleries across the country. The company ages spirits in its own warehouses and bottles them when they reach peak maturity.
Over its 125 years in operation, Gordon & MacPhail has bottled whisky from major distilleries in the Scotch whisky industry, including the likes of Glenfiddich and The Macallan.
But for the third year now, it's bottled great whiskies from distilleries of which you’ve never heard—because the brands are no longer around. The aptly named Recollection Series captures the magic of long-dead distilleries by bottling some of the few remaining barrels of they produced.
“We’re fortunate enough to have access to a liquid library, which is a testament to the relationships we’ve nurtured with whisky distillers for almost 130 years,” explains Stuart Urquhart, operations director at Gordon & MacPhail. “We’re proud to be able to revive the spirit of these historic distilleries, bringing their stories back into the present day.”
Six whiskies in total make up this year’s collection, but there are two standouts likely to draw the most attention, because their dead distilleries were once quite legendary.
Port Ellen 1981
Courtesy Image
By far the most interesting bottle in this collection is the 105 proof, £10,000 (about $10,400) bottle of 1981 Port Ellen. Gordon & MacPhail captured liquid distilled just two years before the most recent iteration of Port Ellen, which has been closed several times in its nearly 200-year history.
The distillery is known for its subtle, silky peat profile and rich cask character, which accounts for the flavors of dark chocolate, black currant, fruit cake, and dark cherry.
More interesting, though, is that smoke lingers at all in this forty-something liquid. Peat is one of the first flavors to vanish over the course of a long aging process, along with grain character. Typically, whiskies takes on more and more of the characteristics of the wood it resides in. But, impressively, Port Ellen 1981 maintains sweet smoke and bonfire embers on the palate and finish.
Rosebank 1991
Courtesy Image
The Recollection Series also includes liquid from another previously shuttered distillery: Rosebank. The less famous bottling of long-lost whisky is 102.4 proof with an incredible tropical fruit profile that includes lime and banana aromas and guava and passionfruit flavors. The finish is described as medium bodied with creamy apple and tropical fruit.
That's an unusual profile in Scotch whisky, although the 1991 Rosebank also has aromas and flavors of honeycomb, milk chocolate, and vanilla fudge. It’s hard not to imagine how deliciously decadent this whiskey would be in a highball. And at £2,100 (about $2,180), it's more affordable than Port Ellen 1981.
Glenlochy 1979
Courtesy Image
Glenlochy 1979 is a highland whisky that often ends up in blends. The ultra-rare scotch has a light and fruity character characterized by tropical fruits and toasted nuts, with a hint of oak. A bottle costs £4,000 (about $4,160).
Convalmore 1984
Courtesy Image
Another distillery that mostly distilled for blends, Convalmore's 1984 expression is described as waxy with butterscotch and raisin, demerara sugar, and a surprisingly spicy finish of grapefruit zest and black pepper teased by hints of coffee bean and raisin earlier in the experience. It costs £2,300 (about $2,400).
Imperial 1990
Courtesy Image
This 1990 cask from now-closed Speyside distillery Imperial leans green and spicy, balancing notes of sweet lime, ripe green apple, and tropical fruit with cracked pepper, chili spice and charred oak. Hints of honey, cocoa powder and peanut brittle bring the sweetness and balance to a complex profile. It's £1,650 (about $1,720) per bottle.
North Port 1981
Courtesy Image
Not to be confused with Port Ellen, North Port’s 1981 release comes from a closed distillery equidistant between Dundee and Aberdeen on the East coast of Scotland. The 101.8-proof whisky is nutty and raisiny, with butterscotch, apricot jam, walnut, Brazil nut, dried coconut, and hints of oak spice characterizing the profile. It can be yours for £3,850 (about $4,000).
The prices will vary based on market, and old single cask whiskies are notoriously prone to evaporation, meaning that there may be just a few hundred bottles or less of these drams available.
One piece of advice: if you snag one of these bottles, make sure to open and enjoy sooner than later. The only thing more precious than these whiskies, is time.
Related: How to Drink Scotch Whisky: Experts Share Their Best Tips
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/3eLYBIV
No comments:
Post a Comment