CAOL ILA 1982 Gordon & Macphail

This Caol Ila distilled in 1982 was bottled in 2012 by Gordon & MacPhail, one of the oldest merchants in Scotland, after maturation in a refill sherry hogshead (single cask #692). The house was founded in Elgin in 1895 by James Gordon and John Alexander Macphail. As was often the case at the time, it was a grocery and wine merchant. In 1915, John Alexander MacPhail retired and a new partner, John Urquhart, joined the business. He was joined by his son George in 1933, a few years after James Gordon died in a car accident. The merchant worked with several major Speyside distilleries, building up considerable stocks. Gordon & MacPhail also bottled under licence the whiskies of many of these distilleries, such as Glen Grant, Linkwood, Mortlach, Macallan and Glenlivet. Business flourished in the 1970s with distributors in several countries and cask sales to a number of Italian bottlers – selections that have often become legendary. Today, Gordon & MacPhail, still run by the Urquhart family in its original building, is one of the most emblematic merchants in the trade, with abundant stocks of sometimes very old whiskies. A limited edition of 264 bottles for La Maison du Whisky.