Glenlivet 1978/2021 G&M PVC Private Collection #9044402

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 54.3% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This Glenlivet spent its entire 43-year maturation in a single Refill Sherry Hogshead. The single malt was distilled on 30 August 1978 and bottled on 9 December 2021 by Gordon & MacPhail for the Private Collection. Cask No. 9044402 yielded 310 bottles. Refill denotes a cask previously used to mature whisky.

The Private Collection brings together long-matured single malts selected by members of the Urquhart family. This Glenlivet was bottled at its natural cask strength of 54.3%. It is non-chill filtered and contains no colouring. The 0.7-litre bottle has pronounced vertical grooves and comes in a wooden box with a geometric grain pattern.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, stewed raisins mingle with orange peel and a subtle hint of beeswax polish. Spiced baked apple notes give way to vanilla pod and gentle nutmeg.
• Palate: Cinnamon appears first on the palate, followed by marmalade and toasted almonds. Roasted coffee beans then emerge, before sour cherries and hazelnuts add to the flavour.
• Finish: The long finish lingers with sultanas and sweet sherry notes.

Distillery/Bottler:

The Glenlivet lies in the Livet valley in Speyside. Its founder, George Smith, came from a family of illicit distillers and initially continued this activity at Upper Drumin Farm. Following the reform of excise legislation in 1823, he obtained the first distilling licence in the parish of Glenlivet. His whisky became so successful that other distilleries also began using the Glenlivet name. A court ruling in 1884 finally secured the name The Glenlivet for Smith's whisky.

Gordon & MacPhail began as a grocery shop in Elgin in 1895. James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail traded in tea, coffee, wine and whisky, among other goods. John Urquhart and later his son George developed their expertise in selecting single malts and maturing them over long periods. Their approach goes beyond choosing finished whiskies: the company matches its own casks to each distillery's character, specifying details such as cask size, stave thickness and the heat treatment of the wood. Regular cask samples help determine the right time for bottling, with more frequent checks for very old whiskies. The relationship with Glenlivet stretches back many years: as early as 1940, John Urquhart arranged for Sherry Butts to be filled there, yielding bottlings in the Generations range decades later.

Facts: