Gordon & MacPhail Introduces the World's Oldest Single Malt Scotch Whisky

ELGIN, SCOTLAND, 22 July 2025: Whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail is set to release the world’s oldest single malt Scotch whisky this October – an 85-Years-Old from Glenlivet Distillery – in partnership with American architect and designer, Jeanne Gang.

On 3rd February 1940 in a quiet corner of the north-east of Scotland, George Urquhart and his father, John, had the extraordinary foresight and vision to lay down spirit from Glenlivet Distillery in a Gordon & MacPhail American oak cask to be enjoyed after his lifetime by future generations.

George Urquhart, or ‘Mr George’ as he was fondly known by those who knew him best, knew he would never taste it. Only when the whisky was deemed ready would it be shared. Leaning on the family’s unique skills and experience, the time for Cask 336 came to be 85 years – longer than any other single malt Scotch whisky in history.

On 5th February 2025, the decision was taken to finally empty the cask. A total of 125 decanters of the 85 years old whisky were bottled in line with Gordon & MacPhail’s family expertise to produce liquid of the highest quality.

“This whisky is truly exceptional due to its remarkable history and unique maturation process. The influence of the cask, combined with the rarity and scarcity of the liquid, creates a whisky with a strength of 43.7% ABV that is not only extraordinary in its taste but also a living piece of history,” explains Stephen Rankin Director of Prestige at Gordon & MacPhail, and member of the fourth generation of the family that owns the company.

For 130 years, Gordon & MacPhail has been driven by a simple mission: to create single malt Scotch whisky of exceptional quality. Through four generations of family ownership, the company has matched its own casks with spirit from over 100 Scottish distilleries. It is this unique experience of cask curation that allows Gordon & MacPhail to consistently deliver a range of quality whiskies, nurtured from cask to bottle, found nowhere else in the world.

Timing is everything. Gordon & MacPhail will only release a whisky when over a century of experience determines it is appropriate to do so. Leaving each cask to mature, undeterred by commercial necessity, is a long-held, unnegotiable mantra, a fitting way to honour the integrity of each release. As a result, Gordon & MacPhail’s whiskies are often the oldest expression ever to be released from a particular distillery.

To celebrate John and George Urquhart’s vision, one embraced by generations of the family that owns the business, Gordon & MacPhail has collaborated with internationally acclaimed American architect Jeanne Gang, to create a unique decanter to house the world’s most precious whisky to date. The product design – themed around ‘Artistry in Oak’ - will be revealed later this year. Known for a distinctive design approach that expands beyond architecture’s conventional boundaries, Gang was a natural choice as a creative partner, sharing the company’s commitment to leave a legacy for future generations.

“I was excited to learn about everything involved in whisky’s creation. Each careful step lends something to a whisky’s unique flavor. Then, there are years of protecting the casks so they can age. In architecture, these elements of materiality and time also play a critical role in the design process. Both are about creating something enduring, so this is what I found inspiring about this opportunity to design a decanter for Gordon & MacPhail’s 85-year-old single malt whisky” expresses Gang.

Jeanne Gang’s stunning decanter will be revealed in October 2025, with decanter #1 auctioned by Christie’s New York in November 2025. To continue the legacy theme, auction proceeds (minus costs) will be donated to the oldest national non-profit conservation organisation in the United States, American Forests, a leader in forest restoration.

“Given the importance of oak in our craft, this partnership was a natural fit, aligning with our mission to leave a meaningful legacy for ongoing generations, via fundraising for the sustainable future of American oak trees,” comments Stephen Rankin.

Those who would like to learn more about the whisky ahead of its release are encouraged to register their interest at the brand’s official website at gordonandmacphail.com.

The world’s oldest single malt Scotch whisky: Gordon & MacPhail 85 Years Old from Glenlivet Distillery to be released in October 2025 created through George Urquhart’s vision and celebrated via collaboration with Jeanne Gang.

Register interest via: GORDONANDMACPHAIL.COM

ENDS

For more than 130 years, Gordon & MacPhail has been driven by a simple mission: to create single malt Scotch whisky of exceptional quality. Through four generations of family ownership, the company has matched its own bespoke casks with spirit from over 100 Scottish distilleries. Managing a portfolio of casks is a complex level of expertise which Gordon & MacPhail has honed to fully understand cask maturation matched to different styles of spirit. It is this cask curation that allows Gordon & MacPhail to consistently deliver a range of perfectly matured whiskies. Their expert maturation management creates unique, complex but perfectly balanced single malts found nowhere else. At the very heart of business lies the sample room - an exceptional liquid library spanning more than a century of Scotch whiskies featuring a wide range of age profiles and character. But these exceptional snapshots in time are not heirlooms there to impress, they exist to help inform and shape future decision-making and provide an invaluable guide for generations to come.

Uniquely, Gordon & MacPhail is the only whisky company to have matched its casks to spirit from over 100 distilleries from all over Scotland. We then nurture it, often for many decades, then lean on experience handed down through four generations to know when to bottle it. Over its 130 history, Gordon & MacPhail built a strong bond of trust and mutual respect with these distilleries to allow the company to fill casks. These relationships were founded on the commitment that Gordon & MacPhail’s releases would complement not compete against those from the proprietary distillery, providing drinkers with interesting nuances in flavour. No other company has the depth and breadth of whisky in terms of variety of source distillery of the original spirit and age up to 80 years.

Jeanne Gang is the founding partner of Studio Gang, an international architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Paris. Known for a distinctive design approach that expands beyond architecture’s conventional boundaries, she creates striking places that strengthen connections between people, their communities, and nature. Her diverse, award-winning portfolio across the Americas and Europe includes the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History, which the New York Times called "a poetic, joyful, theatrical work of public architecture"; a new United States Embassy in Brazil; and an expansion of the Clinton Presidential Center. Intertwined with built work, Jeanne and the Studio develop research, publications, and exhibitions that push design’s ability to create public awareness and give rise to change—a practice Jeanne calls “actionable idealism.” A MacArthur Fellow and a Professor in Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Jeanne has been named one of TIME Magazine’s most influential people in the world.

Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business with a physical presence in 46 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, and flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. Renowned and trusted for our expert live and online-only auctions, as well as bespoke Private Sales, Christie’s unparalleled network of specialists offers our clients a full portfolio of global services, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $500 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 7 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction, launched the first fully on-chain auction platform dedicated to exceptional NFT art and manages an investment fund to support innovative start-ups in the art market. Christie’s is also committed to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide. To learn more, browse, bid, discover and join us for the best of art and luxury at christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps.

American Forests is the first national nonprofit conservation organization created in the U.S. Since its founding in 1875, the organization has been the pathfinders for the forest conservation movement. Its mission is to create healthy and resilient forests, from cities to large natural landscapes, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. The organization advances its mission through forestry, innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building.