Gordon & MacPhail 50th Anniversary Collection 5x70cl - 50th Anniversary Kirsch Import (G&M)

Volume: 3.5 litres | Alcohol content: 50.34% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This anniversary collection brings together five distilleries and five decades of distillation under the Gordon & MacPhail name. Created to mark Kirsch Import's 50th anniversary, it is limited to 50 sets. The five bottles are housed in a wooden presentation case decorated with a stag motif and anniversary lettering.

The collection contains 0.7 litres each of 46-year-old Caol Ila 1976 at 45.8%, Littlemill 1991/2023 at 44.5%, Bruichladdich 1988/2024 at 51.2%, Speymalt from Macallan Distillery 2001/2026 at 51% and 14-year-old Benromach 2012/2026 at 59.2%. Whiskies matured for many decades thus sit alongside a younger single-cask bottling. The presentation also reflects different periods in the bottler's history: historic map labels and the black Connoisseurs Choice label appear alongside the Speymalt design and today's Connoisseurs Choice presentation.

The Caol Ila matured in a Refill American Hogshead, a cask previously used to mature whisky. The Benromach, by contrast, comes from First Fill Bourbon Barrel number 11 and was bottled on 14 July 2026. The collection has no added colouring and is non-chill filtered. Its flavour range extends beyond citrus and coconut to red apples, dark chocolate and autumnal spices, with delicate smoke adding another accent to the long-matured Caol Ila.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The collection's aromatic range combines lively orange zest with creamy coconut notes and delicate hints of white chocolate.
• Palate: On the palate, distinct notes of juicy apple meet the spice of mature oak.
• Finish: The long finish reveals a subtle smoky note and gently fading chocolate.

Distillery/Bottler:

Gordon & MacPhail began as a grocery, wine and spirits shop founded in Elgin in 1895 by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail. John Urquhart, and later his son George, made the selection and maturation of malt whisky a central part of the business. They matched spirits with suitable oak casks and built up stocks for maturation that could last several decades. Working with its own casks and whiskies from different distilleries also provides the background to this collection.

George Urquhart introduced Connoisseurs Choice in 1968 to make single malts available from distilleries whose whiskies were rarely encountered in their own right at the time. The map labels of the Heritage presentation recall this history. The company also has its own distillery in Benromach: the Urquhart family acquired the site near Forres in 1993 and reopened it in 1998 after five years of refitting.

Facts: