There Will Be a 100-Year-Old Whisky in the Future
The idea of a 100-year-old whisky is not a fantasy. Thanks to Gordon & MacPhail, it seems that it will one day be an inevitability.
“My brother talks about the aspiration to get to a 100-year-old whisky before we retire. We have a plan to retire on the same day, if I retire when I’m 66… in 21 more years we should be able to get a 100-year-old whisky out”.
That was Richard Urquhart, Gordon & MacPhail sales director, speaking at the Unlocking the Liquid Library of Gordon & MacPhail masterclass at the latest CASK Liquid Marketing Showcase. He and his brother are twins and members of the Urquhart family that has led the direction of the company’s Scotch whisky portfolio since 1915.
Gordon & MacPhail has some of the oldest casks of whisky in the world
A 100-year-old whisky is possible
Urquhart clarified that with the casks we have maturing just now, it is possible, but it all depends on the specifics. You need the right wood, the right conditions, and a lot of patience to make something like this happen. But, if everything behaves itself, there’s no reason we couldn’t see a 100-year-old whisky from Gordon & MacPhail in the future.
For most whisky producers, fifty years is considered extreme maturity. But we aren’t talking about most. Gordon & MacPhail is the producer of the World’s Oldest Single Malt. That was an 85-year-old Glenlivet single malt whisky laid down on 3 February 1940 by John and George Urquhart.
The reason lies in how the company has approached whisky maturation for more than a century, which we covered on our blog today. Do give it a read. But it’s essentially the long-term result of controlling the whisky from the very beginning of its life, buying new make and ageing it in casks and warehouses that belong to Gordon & MacPhail. It means it boasts one of the most extensive inventories of aged Scotch whisky anywhere in the world.
There are several casks in the warehouse that date back to the 1940s. You do the maths.
The world’s oldest single malt is 85-years-old
Why aim for 100?
Partly because the whisky exists. Some of Gordon & MacPhail’s mid-20th century casks are still maturing slowly and steadily. Provided the cask remains healthy and the whisky continues to develop positively, there is nothing to stop it ageing further.
The second reason is philosophy. Gordon & MacPhail is still a family-owned business, now in its fourth generation. The company has always taken an unusually long-term view of whisky, filling casks that may not be bottled until decades later. Reaching a century would simply be the natural continuation of that thinking.
There are challenges, of course. Angel’s share gradually reduces the whisky in the cask, and the wood must remain balanced enough to avoid overpowering the spirit. But with the right cask, careful monitoring, and patience, it is possible. Gordon & MacPhail has demonstrated that before.
And if it happens, the result will be something remarkable: a whisky that has matured longer than many of the people who will eventually drink it.
