The world's oldest bottled single malt whisky was piped into Edinburgh Castle on Thursday.
The Mortlach 70-year-old Speyside was unveiled to a select group of tasters in the capital before hitting the market for enthusiasts. Just 54 full size decanters of the cask-strength dram will go on sale, at a cost of £10,000 each, while 162 smaller bottles will retail for £2,500 each. That means each individual shot savoured will cost over £300.
The whisky has been released under the 'Generations' brand by experts Gordon and MacPhail. It was created in October 1938 on the order of John Urquhart, the grandfather of the firm's current joint managing directors, David and Michael Urquhart. Exactly 70 years later, the decision was taken to open the historic cask, resulting in one of the most unique whiskies ever to be successfully produced in Scotland.
Michael Urquhart told STV News the whisky had been a family project handed down through the generations. He said: "Gordon and MacPhail have been in business since 1895 and my grandfather joined the business in its first year of trading, working with one of the partners on the whisky side of the business. At that stage they were laying down whisky from the majority of distilleries in Scotland, into their own casks.
"This would have been a cask that was filled by my grandfather, along with my father, who started with the business in 1933. And it was one of the casks that we left in the Mortlach distillery up in Dufftown till 1982, when we took it down to our own warehouses in Elgin and bottled it on its 70th birthday."
While the whisky is the most mature ever to be sold in Scotland, Mr Urquhart said he was confident it would turn out well when the cask was opened. He added: "We spend a lot of time in selecting our casks. That's what we've done for three or four generations and it's vitally important to make sure you use good quality wood. That way you can be assured that the whisky will turn out the way you're wanting it to turn out, depending on the maturation, whether its a young ten-year-old, maybe a 70-year-old or anything in between.
"The whisky's just so fruity, lovely cherry notes coming through, Madeira cake, some almonds, some dry figs coming through. It's just so vibrant. I just hope I'm as fresh as this when I'm 70.“
Charles MacLean, the whisky writer and connoisseur described it as “a delicate, fresh, vital, fruity whisky, with unusual attributes of waxiness and smokiness.”
Speaking at the launch, he said: "It's an amazing occasion. I was actually privileged enough to taste this some months ago as I wrote the tasting notes for Gordon and MacPhail. I was sworn to secrecy and I haven't told a soul about it, but I had had the chance to taste a very small amount. And it's a most sublime whisky, it really has worked very well.
"Initially, I was quite suspicious about a 70-year-old whisky because the flavours can be completely dominated by the wood and of course, the strength goes right down as well. It can't be bottled as Scotch if it's under 40%. This has come out at 46.1%, which is quite high after 70 years maturation. But it's a really beautiful marriage of spirit and wood."
The rare whisky has been bottled in hand blown crystal teardrops, topped with silver caps and contained in handmade wooden boxes. It is the first in a series of historic drams due to be released by Gordon and MacPhail.
The Moray-based family company has been trading since 1895 and now exports to more than 40 countries.
