Review: Gordon & MacPhail The Glenlivet 85 Years Old
On February 3, 1940, The Glenlivet distillery accepted delivery of 15 empty hogsheads provided by longtime indie whiskey producers and partners Gordon & MacPhail, and filled them with new make spirit. No one probably expected those casks to sit in a warehouse aging for the next 85 years, but at least one of them did, slumbering in the cellar until February 5, 2025, when it was finally put into bottle.
There’s no hyperbole here and no need for it: Gordon & MacPhail The Glenlivet 85 Years Old is the oldest whisky ever bottled, at least for now, and it’s a testament to the insane ageability of single malt Scotch — at least the really, really good stuff.
I spent an hour with Stephen Rankin, Director of Prestige for Gordon & MacPhail and a fourth-generation member of its family-owned operation, over Microsoft Teams to talk about the history of G&M, this particular cask, its impressive bottle, and more. Naturally, we also tasted the whisky; the distillery was kind enough to send me about 25ml, which is at once plenty and nowhere near enough to really get to the core of its DNA.
But before we taste, let’s talk about what this whisky, drawn from Cask #336. The wood itself hails from a tree that was harvested in the early 1800s, when Queen Victoria was getting married and Abraham Lincoln was practicing law. That wood eventually found its way to Spain where it served in a sherry cask for years, eventually to be repurposed as a first-fill hogshead by G&M. The barley used to make the whisky was from the final peacetime harvest in Scotland before Britain was pulled full into World War II.
The whisky drawn from this 85 year-old cask filled 125 decanters, 124 of which are now available for purchase. The decanter is, of course, a showstopper all on its own. Designed by famed American designer Jeanne Gang, it features a hand-blown glass bottle that’s wrapped in a bronze lattice that was inspired by the American oak used for the barrel.
The remaining decanter — engraved as decanter #1 — is being auctioned for charity by Christie’s beginning November 7. G&M is partnering with the American Forests conservation group for the sale, with all proceeds going to American forest conservation. The winner also gets the original barrel head (see above) mounted in a frame — plus a tasting with Rankin or his cousin (or both).
If you miss out on this release — which features an asking price of £125,000, or US$170,000, don’t worry. Rankin hints that even older releases may be in the works — including, someday, the prospect of a 100-year old bottling (likely drawn from with whisky laid down in the late 1940s).
Until then, let’s see what the oldest whisky in the world tastes like.
Gordon & MacPhail The Glenlivet 85 Years Old Review
The nose is an immediate surprise, almost a shock: It’s light on its feet and extremely fragrant, gently leathery and dominated by a sharp edge of citrus — tangerine, then apricot. It takes a few minutes but a floral incense character soon builds, evoking notes of lilac. Further time in glass allows a sultry caramel and butterscotch note to emerge, tempering some of the fruit and florals. That said, you can smell the influence of the cask and time throughout, but the experience is never woody in the classic sense, nor is it particularly austere. The aroma certainly does not connote multiple decades of aging in the way that many old whiskies like Highland Park 50 Years Old often do. Somehow it feels fresh and exuberant, as if it may have even been able to handle another few years of slumbering in oak.
The palate is equally incredible, with a bright tangerine flavor striking the tongue first, followed by fresh apricot notes. Here the age of the whisky is more evident, with a slightly sooty/ashy note that gives the spirit some gravity and further a sense of history. The perfume character evident in the nose quickly comes around here, too, infusing the whisky with a hearty potpourri quality. It can come across as a little industrial at times, but in the best possible way — 1940 was a different era for whiskymaking, after all, and you can taste the sense of time and place in the finished product. The slightly waxy body ensures all these flavors cling to the palate for the long haul, and they amplify the equally lengthy finish, which heavily features a floral reprise. There is absolutely nothing shy about the whisky, and it’s hard to find any fault with it, either.
Ultimately, this is without a doubt one of the most memorable whiskies I’ve ever tasted, and I’m beyond sad that I’ll surely never get a chance to sip it again. My advice to the rest of you: Get some rich friends.
87.4 proof.
A+ / £125,000
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