Glenlivet : 74 Year Old Private Collection Ultra Gordon & MacPhail 1949

Tasting Notes and Characteristics of the 74 Years Old Private Collection Ultra Gordon & MacPhail 1949 by Glenlivet

Tasting

Nose
Of remarkable complexity, the nose reveals rich aromas of stewed and dried fruits, intimately intertwined with warm spices such as cinnamon. Noble tertiary notes of rancio, aged leather and beeswax interweave with an unexpected touch of freshness brought by aniseed, clementine and dried orange zest.

Palate
Ample and vibrant despite its great age, the palate offers indulgent flavours of fruit cake, golden raisins, figs, dates and prunes. This sweetness is perfectly balanced by autumnal spices (cinnamon, clove, crushed black pepper), a surprising freshness of garden mint, as well as deep notes of dark molasses, brown sugar and lightly charred oak. The finish is exceptionally long, spicy and slightly sweet, marked by lingering traces of orange zest, dried fruits and toasted almonds.

Mixology
As this is a single malt of absolute rarity and venerable age, this exceptional spirit is best enjoyed neat, without any embellishment, in order to allow its seven decades of maturation to fully express themselves.

Other characteristics
This single malt is unpeated. It has been bottled at its natural cask strength of 49.3% vol., a remarkable concentration that bears witness to optimal ageing conditions after 74 years of maturation.

An Exceptional Single Malt: the Ultimate Expression of Scotch Whisky by Glenlivet

The legacy of The Glenlivet: a Speyside pioneer
Founded in 1824 by George Smith in the Livet valley, the Glenlivet distillery is a true pioneer of legal distillation in the Speyside region. This cradle of Scotch whisky is renowned for its elegant, smooth, fruity and floral style, with no trace of peat. Production relies on pure spring water sourced from Josie's Well, traditional wooden fermenters and lantern-shaped stills that promote the finesse of the distillate. Today, the estate belongs to Chivas Brothers, a subsidiary of the French group Pernod Ricard since 2001. Glenlivet remains the second best-selling single malt in the world, while jealously preserving its historic identity and centuries-old expertise.

The story of the 74 Years Old Private Collection Ultra Gordon & MacPhail 1949
This Single Malt of extraordinary rarity is the result of a historic collaboration between the producing distillery and the renowned independent bottler from Elgin. Distilled on 1 January 1949, the 74 Years Old Private Collection Ultra Gordon & MacPhail has benefited from an exceptional maturation of more than seven decades.

Personally selected by members of the Urquhart family, the distillate was carefully matured in a single oak cask (cask no. 11), identified as a second-fill sherry cask (Refill Sherry Hogshead or Butt). This judicious choice allowed for a slow and measured oxidation, preventing the wood or the fortified wine from masking the original delicacy of the spirit.

Bottled on 6 March 2023 at its natural strength, this 1949 vintage is presented in a luxurious wooden case. A strictly limited edition, it is the very last cask from this post-war year originating from the distillery and held by Gordon & MacPhail. This liquid masterpiece embodies not only a technical feat of preservation, but also a true piece of Scotch whisky history, offering collectors an ultimate window onto the past.