Founded in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail is without a doubt one of the most famous independent bottlers in Scotland. What marks it out from all the others is not its age, nor its privileged location in the heart of Speyside, but its complete control over maturation. The only bottler to fill its own carefully selected casks within the distilleries themselves, Gordon & MacPhail has continued its search for excellence in the subtle art of maturation for more than 25 years.

A 25 year old Pure Malt distilled in 1965 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail for the MacPhail’’s brand. The exact origin of the whisky is unknown. Gordon & MacPhail offered several similarly mysterious brands in the same period, including Glen Avon and Pride of Strathspey, with rumours abound regarding the distilleries behind the names. Gordon & MacPhail is one of Scotland’’s oldest bottlers and was founded in Elgin in 1895 by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail. As was often the case at the time, the business started out as a delicatessen and wine merchant. In 1915, John Alexander MacPhail retired and a new partner joined the business, John Urquhart. He was joined by his son George in 1933, a few years after James Gordon sadly died in a car crash. Gordon & MacPhail works with many of Speyside’’s leading distilleries, from whom it has accumulated considerable stocks. It is also licensed to bottle whiskies for many of them, including Glen Grant, Linkwood, Mortlach, Macallan and Glenlivet. The business really took off in the 1970s, acquiring distributors in a huge range of countries and selling casks to several Italian bottlers in selections that would become legends in their own right. Gordon & MacPhail is still run by the Urquhart family today, from the same building, and is one of the most iconic bottlers in the industry, with incredible stocks of sometimes very old and rare whiskies. The company is in complete control of the entire maturation process. Gordon & MacPhail has also owned the Benromach distillery since 1993.