Elgin-based whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail has unveiled the latest offering in its luxury Generations range – a 75-year-old single malt Scotch billed as the most exclusive in the world.
The rare spirit, which was launched at the Royal Opera House in London yesterday, has a recommended retail price of £20,000, making a dram about £1,500.
Only 100 specially-designed crystal decanters of the Mortlach 75 Years Old, bottled at the cask strength of 44.4%, have been released for worldwide sale.
Whisky writer Charles MacLean and author Alexander McCall Smith joined members of the Urquhart family to mark the occasion.
They are the descendants of John Urquhart, the first generation of the family to be involved in Gordon & MacPhail.
On November 17, 1939, he instructed the first-fill Sherry butt cask to be filled with new-make spirit from the Mortlach Distillery in Dufftown.
It remained there for three quarters of a century until the cask was finally opened and the amber nectar inside revealed.
It was then transferred into individually numbered, teardrop-shaped decanters, which have 75 cuts, each representing a year of the maturation process.
Neil Urquhart, director of HR and compliance, said he felt immensely proud to be involved in the long-awaited moment.
The 40-year-old, who has worked at the firm for 13 years, added: “The family dynamic is quite unique in the industry, in any industry.”
Richard Urquhart, export sales executive, also hailed the “landmark” occasion in the company’s history.
Stephen Rankin, John’s great grandson who is also a director, added: “Having been nurtured and cared for by four generations of our family it gives us great pleasure to release this unique and incredibly rare single malt.”
The malt is described as having notes of dried apricots and pomegranate followed by hints of spice and creamy vanilla with a lingering smoky finish.
Mr MacLean, who led the tasting and with Mr McCall Smith has written a specially-commissioned book Seven Nights with Mortlach, called it the “Ingrid Bergman of malts”.
Since its foundation in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail’s policy has been to send casks to distilleries throughout Scotland, fill them with new-make spirit and mature them either at the distillery of origin or in the firm’s own bonded warehouses.