Gordon & MacPhail Unveils 1961 Twin Longmorn Whiskies

Gordon & MacPhail has revealed the latest addition to its prestigious Private Collection whiskies. A pair of 57-year-old Longmorn single malts, priced at £30,000 a set.

The ‘twin’ whiskies were selected for bottling by identical twin brothers Stuart and Richard Urquhart, and contain the oldest Longmorn single malts ever released, originally laid down to mature by the brothers’ grandfather George Urquhart in 1961, with only 97 sets available worldwide.

Both Longmorns were matured in first-fill Sherry hogsheads and bottled at cask strength, with Stuart and Richard Urquhart choosing a whisky each: Richard Urquhart’s whisky from the European Oak Cask 508 was bottled at 45% abv, ‘mahogany with red highlights; rich, abundant nose, complex aromatic flavours and perfumed top notes’ while the whisky from American Oak Cask 512, selected by Stuart Urquhart, was bottled at 40.8% abv, ‘slightly lighter in colour … sweeter on the nose and fruity on the palate, with notes of black cherry, raspberry and dried vanilla’.

Stephen Rankin, Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, fourth generation member of the Urquhart family and himself a father of twins, said: “This is a unique and exclusive opportunity to taste a remarkable piece of Scotland’s liquid history. Owners of these twin decanters will be able to explore the similarities and nuances of the oldest Longmorn single malt Scotch whiskies ever bottled.”

Each individually numbered hand-blown decanter is beautifully presented in award-winning packaging which includes a book written by renowned writer and rare whisky specialist, Jonny McCormick, along with a personally signed certificate of authenticity from each brother.

The twin decanters complete the release of four extremely rare single cask bottlings unveiled as part of the ‘Private Collection’ range. The first, Private Collection Glenlivet 1943 by Gordon & MacPhail, a rare wartime cask, was released in October 2017 and the second, Private Collection from Linkwood Distillery 1956 by Gordon & MacPhail, was released in February 2018.