The year 1895 marks the beginning of the Gordon and MacPhail legacy when founding partners, James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail, established the business in South Street, Elgin.

Within a year of the firm’s establishment, John Urquhart joined the company and was made a senior partner in 1915. He soon began to develop the firm’s whisky broking business, and to specialise in single malt whiskies, bottling under licence for several famous distilleries, including The Glenlivet.

It was a short step from this to selecting and filling his own casks with new-make spirit, leaving them to mature at the distillery – often for much longer than was customary at that time - and then blending the whiskies or bottling them as single malts.

George UrquhartUnder the expert tutorage of his father, George Urquhart joined Gordon & MacPhail in 1933. Like his father and James Gordon before him, George began at the very bottom: cleaning, sweeping and stacking were only some of the daily chores tasked to the young George. It was not until later and the 1960’s that he took the unprecedented step of launching a range of single malts from different distilleries under the brand name ‘Connoisseur’s Choice’, and offered the range for sale in the rapidly expanding Italian, French, American and Dutch markets. This move laid the foundations for the significant interest in malt whisky in these countries that remains to this day.

By this time the family firm held the largest range of bottled malt whiskies in the world.  Most makes were unavailable elsewhere, since very few distillery owners bottled their own malts as singles- indeed, it is no overstatement to say that Gordon and MacPhail single handedly kept the amber lamp of aged malt whisky burning during the post-war decades!

Upon John Urquhart’s death in 1956, George Urquhart succeeds his father as Senior Partner.

On 11th March 2010, Gordon & MacPhail made history by launching Mortlach 70 Years Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the world’s oldest bottled single malt whisky. Released under the ‘Gordon & MacPhail Generations’ brand name, the product epitomises the family values of the company, with each generation building on handing on a lifetime’s expertise to the next.

Mortlach has long been ranked 'Top Class' by experts. Our Grandfarther filled this cask in 1938: a Spanish oak, ex-bodega sherry hogshead - universally acknowledged to be the best wood for so rich a whisky. He left it to mature in our warehouse in Elgin, and there it has slumbered from generation to generation.

Now it seems to us to be perfect: a whisky without equal which epitomises our family values, built on generations of expertise in single malts.

David & Michael Urquhart,
Joint Managing Directors of Gordon & MacPhail

Nineteen-forty was possibly the darkest year in the entire history of Great Britain.

War had been declared against Nazi Germany the previous September, but so far it had been a ‘phoney war’: this would change rapidly in the months to come. In January, the Blitzkreig was unleashed upon Finland and Norway, which were defeated after stiff resistance; Denmark, Belgium and The Netherlands surrendered; Paris was bombed, and in June Marshall Pétain surrendered and France was occupied. The same month Italy declared war on Great Britain, 13,000 British and French troops surrendered to Field

Marshall Rommel at St. Valery and 300,000 Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk.

Britain stood alone against the Axis powers, and Winston Churchill (who had become Prime Minister in May) told the nation that “the Battle of France is now over; the Battle of Britain is about to begin”.

And begin it did, in July, with continuous bombing raids by the Luftwaffe, bravely checked by ‘The Few’ RAF fighter pilots: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”. During September and October - the months of the Blitz – London was bombed on fifty-seven consecutive nights; in November, Coventry was utterly destroyed and in December 500 German bombers devastated Sheffield.

The Nazi tactic was to achieve aerial superiority in order to invade or force an armistice. Churchill had made it clear that this would never happen:

“We shall not flag or fail. We shall fight on the beaches…on the landing grounds…in the fields and the streets… We shall never surrender”.

By the end of the year it was clear that the Luftwaffe would not achieve its goal: the first, crucial, turning point in the war had been reached.

On the outbreak of war, the government immediately increased duty by 10/- (50p) per proof gallon (ppg). Further hikes followed in 1940, increasing the price of a bottle of standard blended Scotch from 12/6d to 16/- (62.5p to 80p). In 1942 duty increased by £2 ppg, and again in 1943 by £1, by which time the price of a bottle of standard blended Scotch had doubled, from 12/6d to 25/9d (62.5p to 128.75p). At the same time, The Whisky Association reduced supplies of Scotch to the Home Market by 20% (increased to 50% in 1941), in order to release more for export, particularly to the U.S.A., so as to improve the U.K. dollar earnings and offset the cost of war materials bought there. In 1940 nearly 7 million proof gallons (mpg) were shipped there – 2.2mpg more than in 1939 – a last gasp by overseas agents to secure as much whisky as they could before enemy action closed the seaways.

In January 1940 rationing was introduced and the Ministry of Food cut malt whisky distilling by one-third, in order to preserve barley. Production dropped dramatically across the whole industry: at The Glenlivet it fell by two-thirds (from 157,641 proof gallons in 1939-40 to 52,630 in 1940-41). During the seasons 1941-42 and 1943-44, when supplies of barley for distilling dried up altogether, The Glenlivet made no whisky at all, and only managed to make 77,715 proof gallons in 1944-45. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister, was acutely aware of the importance of Scotch whisky to the economy. In April 1945, with the end of the war in sight, he circulated a famous memo: “On no account reduce the barley for whisky. This takes years to mature and is an invaluable export and dollar producer.”

The American led Marshall Plan for rebuilding the European economy had come to an end in 1952, and had been a huge success. By 1954 the benefits flowing from modernizing industrial and business practices, reducing trade barriers and instilling a sense of hope and self-reliance, were beginning to be felt. The peoples of France, Italy and even the rapidly recovering Germany had money in their pockets, and they wanted Scotch.

But the glimmer of the economic dawn must be seen against the gloom and high tension of the Cold War.

The Marshall Plan was one of many measures taken by the West, to check Soviet and communist influence. The Soviet Union responded in kind, supporting its client states in the Eastern bloc. Joseph Stalin died in 1953 and his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, sought a less confrontational foreign policy. So the Cold War was waged by military coalitions (such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact), propaganda, espionage and technological competition (epitomised by the Space Race) rather than by direct military clashes.

Such direct clashes as did occur were by proxy, where the super-powers pitted themselves against one another by supporting third parties. This had happened during the Korean War (1950-1953), where the United Nations supported South Korea against the communist North, which was aided by China and Russia.

The War Cabinet’s decision to give whisky priority in post-war planning was not endorsed by the Labour Government which was elected in the summer of 1945. Barley was allocated to distillers only on the understanding that three-quarters of the whisky made would be sold in export markets.

The Glenlivet Distillery produced 111,375 proof gallons in 1945-46, but nothing at all during the following season. It was only during 1949/50 that sufficient barley was released to allow production to return to pre-war levels, and in 1954-55, output exceeded its pre-war level for the first time (250,000 proof gallons).

Stocks of mature whisky remained very low, however, owing to the previous restrictions, and when Scotch was finally taken ‘off-quota’ in the home market in 1954 (at the same time as food rationing finally ceased), the industry was obliged to continue some form of quota system until 1959.

Bill Smith Grant, the owner of The Glenlivet at this time had begun to bottle and sell The Glenlivet in the U.S.A. during the 1930s – one of the very few single malts available there. In particular the major mid-Western railway service, The Pullman Company, sold miniatures of the malt on their trains. They renewed their order in 1947.

It was clear to Bill Smith Grant and his directors that the projected demand over the years to come would require expansion and modernisation, and this would require cash. In 1952 the family firm, George & J.G. Smith Ltd., amalgamated with J. & J.

Grant (Glen Grant) Ltd to form a public company with greater resources. But in the mid-1950s the company did not have the resources to implement the desired changes, and the whisky was made in the same way as it had been before the war.

With one significant difference. Like many other mainland distilleries, The Glenlivet now used more coke and anthracite in its malt kilns than peat. Not only was this more efficient and produced more consistent malt, it increased output substantially. It also subtly changed the character of the new-make spirit at a time when customers wanted lighter, less smoky whiskies for their blends.

To celebrate the launch of Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 years old an additional five whiskies have been released spanning the decades from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. These whiskies reflect Gordon & MacPhail’s long term approach to maturing, selecting and bottling single malts. This approach is built on knowledge and expertise handed down between generations of our family owned business.

Released under Gordon and MacPhail’s Private Collection label, Glenlivet 1954 reflects a range of single malt whiskies personally selected by the Directors of Gordon & MacPhail. Each is of exceptional age and rarity, and of outstanding character and quality.

‘The Sixties’ was an era of profound cultural and political change, and truly began in 1963 with the start of what became known as the ‘counterculture’ – a rejection by the younger generation of the social norms of the 1950s.

The Cold War continued, with the seeds of what would become the Vietnam War being sown in November 1963, when President Johnson increased the number of American troops in South Vietnam. However, many in America and Britain began to doubt the way it was being conducted. In particular they were fearful of the spectre of nuclear war.

There was increasing distrust of the Establishment. In the U.K. the Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, lied to the House of Commons about his affair with Christine Keeler. In America thousands of black Americans were arrested while protesting against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, prompting President Kennedy to promise a Civil Rights Bill – a promise which may have contributed to his assassination later in the year.

Key to the success of the counterculture was the increasing availability and quality of popular music, which - supported by the media, and particularly by the now widespread television – embraced new forms. 1963 was pre-eminently ‘The Year of The Beatles’, who twice reached the top of both album and single charts. By October, the press had coined the term ‘Beatlemania’.

The Glenlivet and the Scotch Whisky Industry in the 1960s

Led by America, there was a phenomenal increase in the demand for Scotch during the 1960s. In 1960, exports to the U.S. stood at 12 mpg; by 1968 they were 33 mpg; two mpg of Scotch was exported to Italy in 1970, and the amounts to France and Germany were even higher. Although the U.K. remained the largest market, sales were depressed by increases in duty in 1964, 1965 and 1968 (twice). Duty per 75cl bottle now stood at £2.20, twice what it had been in 1960.

To meet the demand, output increased slowly until 1963/64, then began to accelerate rapidly from 29 mpg to 51 mpg in 1967. Scottish Malt Distillers, the production division of the mighty Distillers Company, increased the number of stills in their fifty distilleries by more than half between 1959 and 1967, and their example was followed by many independent distillers. Capacity was increased at Glenfarclas, Bunnahabhain, Dalmore, Fettercairn, Tomatin, Knockando and Glen Spey. Long closed distilleries like Glenturret, Benriach, Caperdonich and Jura, were re-opened. New distilleries were built at Tomintoul, Tamnavulin, Loch Lomond, Deanston and Glenallachie, and a handful of malt distilleries were built within existing grain distilleries.

Investment on this scale had not been seen since the late Victorian period, and doubled the output of malt whisky across the industry. The Glenlivet mirrored the trend, steadily increasing production during the decade: by the 1970-72 season, output had almost doubled (from 380,778 proof gallons in 1960-61 to 744,785 in 1970-71).

The size of the distillery, its plant and processes remained the same, however, with one change: the old floor maltings were closed in 1966, and now malt was brought in from independent maltsters, lightly peated to The Glenlivet’s specification. This was happening throughout the industry; slow and labour-intensive floor maltings simply could not produce enough to meet the distillers’ requirements.

To celebrate the launch of Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 years old an additional five whiskies have been released spanning the decades from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. These whiskies reflect Gordon & MacPhail’s long term approach to maturing, selecting and bottling single malts. This approach is built on knowledge and expertise handed down between generations of our family owned business.

Released under Gordon and MacPhail’s Private Collection label, Glenlivet 1963 reflects a range of single malt whiskies personally selected by the Directors of Gordon & MacPhail. Each is of exceptional age and rarity, and of outstanding character and quality.

Ian UrquhartJust as his father had introduced him to the firm, so George brought in his own children. The oldest, Ian, joined in 1967, after having been trained in the wine and spirit trade in London and France. He became managing director at Gordon and MacPhail in 1990 and retired in August 2007.

David UrquhartIn 1972, Ian’s brother David Urquhart joined Gordon and MacPhail.

Formerly a graduate of business in Aberdeen, David began his career with Gordon and MacPhail in 1972 and worked in various areas of the company before becoming UK Sales Director and in 2007 David became joint managing director of the firm along with his brother Michael.

By the late 1960s, the counterculture had become the hippie culture, but this had lost much of its idealism by 1974. Many of the key elements of disaffection had gone. The Vietnam War ended in 1973; the fear of a nuclear holocaust had receeded. The joyful use of mindexpanding drugs had become bitter, and led to the untimely death of several influential voices –Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jack Kerouac and Brian Epstein among them.

Prosaically, but inevitably, this change in attitude was precipitated by economic crisis.

Between January 1973 and December 1974 there was the worst stock market crash since the Great Depression, and this was compounded by an Oil Crisis, when OPEC imposed an oil embargo as a protest against America’s continuing military support of Israel.

Inflation in Western economies, which had been running at about 2.5% per annum since 1900, rose to 13% in 1979 - while unemployment also increased, leading to interest rates of unprecedented levels of over 12% per annum. Manufacturing industries in the United States and the U.K. began to decline as a result. By contrast, Japan’s economy continued to expand and prosper during the decade, with the country becoming the second largest export market for Scotch whisky in 1973.

The U.S.A. remained the largest export market, but fashion was turning away from Scotch– it was ‘Dad’s drink’; no longer aspirational, no longer stylish.

The year this whisky was distilled, The Glenlivet celebrated the 150th anniversary of its foundation.

With the formation of The Glenlivet Distillers Co. Ltd., in 1970, the company was at last poised to undertake the modernisation and expansion required to meet demand. In 1972 the old, dirty and labour-intensive coal furnaces beneath the stills were converted to gas fired burners which were cleaner and more easily controlled. The
next year a dark grains plant was built, and a new pair of stills added, bringing the total to six. Output now topped a million proof gallons for the first time.

The industry continued to expand until the middle of the decade. The Glenlivet was not alone in increasing capacity, and four brand new distilleries were built on Speyside in 1974 and 1975. During the 1970s stocks of whisky in bond reached unprecedented levels, rising from 2.2 million litres in 1965 to 4.5 billion litres in 1975.

Then came a severe slump, prompted by the oil crisis and the end of the Vietnam War, which had stimulated the American economy. Sterling fell against the dollar from $2.33 in September 1974 to $1.66 in September 1976 (and after 1970 Scotch was invoiced in dollars). To make matters worse, whisky was no longer as fashionable as it had been during the past two decades, and many consumers were switching to vodka or white rum, or wine. Orders for fillings and mature whisky began to drop, and malt distillers’ traditional customer base - the blenders - began to shrink. The slump in 1975 encouraged feverish amalgamation. Indeed there were rumours in the Stock Market that all independent whisky companies might be taken over. The impetus towards amalgamation came from North America, and from large U.K. brewing groups. In November 1977 The Glenlivet Distillers Ltd was acquired by the huge Canadian distiller, The Seagram Company, its principal customer and U.S. distributor.

To celebrate the launch of Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 years old an additional five whiskies have been released spanning the decades from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. These whiskies reflect Gordon & MacPhail’s long term approach to maturing, selecting and bottling single malts. This approach is built on knowledge and expertise handed down between generations of our family owned business.

Released under Gordon and MacPhail’s Private Collection label, Glenlivet 1974 reflects a range of single malt whiskies personally selected by the Directors of Gordon & MacPhail. Each is of exceptional age and rarity, and of outstanding character and quality.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979, followed by the Iraqi invasion of Iran the following year, precipitated a second Oil Crisis. The American Government’s response was to stimulate production by allowing the price of oil to follow demand, and output increased dramatically in all non-OPEC countries, soon leading to a glut, and a steady decline in price. While this benefited oil-consuming countries, it represented a serious loss of revenue for oil-producing countries, including the U.K.

In June 1980, the British economy began to slide into recession again: inflation touched 21.8%, and unemployment reached two million in August, the highest since 1935. Strikes and unrest were widespread. Between 1980 and 1985 thirty-one malt whisky distilleries closed, fifteen of them never to open again.

Margaret Thatcher (who had been elected Prime Minister the year before) was determined to stick to a monetarist policy, limiting the supply of money, increasing interest rates, eroding the power of the trades unions and reducing public spending. Some in her Cabinet doubted the wisdom of this and wanted a u-turn, but at the Conservative Party Conference in October she famously replied to her critics: “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning”.

The year after Seagrams took over The Glenlivet Distillers Ltd, the distillery was again expanded by two stills – increasing capacity by one quarter - and between 1981 and 1986 all the stills were converted to indirect firing, by steam coils and pans, as was the fashion within the industry.

One of the side effects of the economic downturn in the mid-1970s was an increase in the number of malts being bottled by their owners as singles. William Grant & Sons had blazed the trail in this regard, promoting Glenfiddich as a ‘pure malt’ from the mid 1960s, followed by Balvenie in 1970, and several independent distillers looked enviously at the brands’ success.

By 1980 consumer interest in single malts was gathering steam. The illustrious wine magazine Decanter published a supplement titled The Harrods Book of Whiskies, and in its fourth edition (1981) the editor wrote: “As recently as 1970 only about 30 malts could be bought as singles [the huge majority from independent bottlers, especially Gordon & MacPhail], but fortunately the appreciation of single malts for their individual character has seen this number nearly double”.

Macallan and Glenmorangie decided to promote their makes as singles in the late 1970s, and commenced press advertising in 1981/82. About the same time, DCL launched their ‘Malt Whisky Cellar’ (Lagavulin, Talisker, Linkwood, Royal Lochnagar and Rosebank) - the forerunner of the hugely influential Classic Malts Selection (launched 1988)– but failed to promote it.

The Glenlivet had, of course, been available as a single malt in both home and export markets for far longer than these newcomers - indeed it was one of only four malts deemed ‘generally available’ in the U.K. in 1970 – but the brand benefited from the growth in interest in malts, in spite of the increase in competition. Annual sales in the U.S.A. increased by an average of 300% between 1977 and 1980; the industry average for Scotch over the same period was 180%.

A visitor centre had been opened at the distillery in 1978, and in 1981 The Glenlivet Royal Wedding Reserve (distilled in 1956) was released to mark the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer.

To celebrate the launch of Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 years old an additional five whiskies have been released spanning the decades from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. These whiskies reflect Gordon & MacPhail’s long term approach to maturing, selecting and bottling single malts. This approach is built on knowledge and expertise handed down between generations of our family owned business.

Released under Gordon and MacPhail’s Private Collection label, Glenlivet 1974 reflects a range of single malt whiskies personally selected by the Directors of Gordon & MacPhail. Each is of exceptional age and rarity, and of outstanding character and quality.

The year 1981 sees two more family members joining Gordon and MacPhail with the joint arrival of both Michael Urquhart and Rosemary Rankin, John Urquhart’s grandson and granddaughter.

Michael UrquhartA Chartered Accountant, Michael began his time with Gordon and MacPhail as Finance Director and over the next 30 years he took on the additional responsibilities of Export Director and Whisky Supply.  In 2007 Michael became joint managing director of the Company along with his brother David.

Rosemary RankinRosemary joined after raising her family. She became a Company Director in 1990.

Benromach DistilleryBenromach was among the distilleries closed and dismantled at this time, but the site was bought by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993 and the distillery re-equipped, to be officially opened by Prince Charles in 1998.

Mrs Thatcher’s firm governance paid off during the mid-1980s and the economy grew, but at the price of a decline in manufacturing, continual battles with the unions and civil unrest concerning the ‘Poll Tax’. By November 1990, she and her government had become unpopular, and following a challenge from Michael Heseltine, she resigned, to be replaced as Prime Minister by John Major.

The West was again sliding into recession, contributed to by a spike in the price of oil: in August 1990, Sadam Hussein’s army had invaded Kuwait, and in January 1991 the RAF joined in the bombing of Iraqi positions.

Unemployment rose from 1.6 to 2.25 million; interest rates stood at 17%, and John Major refused to lower them to ease the plight of small businesses. But inflation decreased to 5.9%, and by the end of the year the Bank of England believed the recession was coming to an end. In fact it would take over a year before the economy picked up again. During 1991 the U.S.S.R. collapsed into fifteen sovereign republics. In the early months, Russia attempted to prevent Lithuanian independence by storming Vilnius, but as the year progressed first the Baltic States, then Ukraine and the southern republics declared their independence. On Boxing Day the Soviet Union itself was officially dissolved.

During the 1990s, what has become known as ‘The Renaissance of Malt Whisky’ gathered momentum.

In 1988, the recently formed United Distillers (successor to the DCL, following the latter’s takeover by Guinness) had launched The Classic Malts Selection, a range of six whiskies chosen to showcase flavours associated with the different whiskyproducing regions in Scotland. This gave a boost to the whole category and appealed to consumers familiar with regional differences in wine.

Other companies followed suit, notably Seagram’s Heritage Selection. ‘Vintage’ malts, older expressions – The Glenlivet 18YO was introduced in 1992 - single cask and cask strength bottlings began to appear, and, pioneered by Glenmorangie, ‘wine finishes’ – where the mature whisky is re-racked into another cask, typically an ex-wine cask, for the final year or two of its maturation in order to add another layer of flavour.

Connoisseurship grew dramatically. Whisky clubs sprang up across Europe, soon followed by whisky fairs and festivals. Distilleries increasingly welcomed visitors –Glenlivet opened a new and lavish visitor centre in 1997. People began to collect malt whiskies – Christie’s held its first dedicated whisky auction in 1989, and from the early 1990s McTear’s in Glasgow have been holding four auctions a year.

Books about malt whisky proliferated to satisfy consumers’ thirst for information: since 1980 twice as many books have been published on the subject as appeared in the previous 200 years. Whisky Magazine first appeared in 1998 and Malt Advocate (in America) in 1992.

Retail chains started to dedicate shelf space to single malts, and by the early 1990s there was sufficient demand and range of stock to provide business for specialist retailers and for dedicated whisky bars.

To celebrate the launch of Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 years old an additional five whiskies have been released spanning the decades from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. These whiskies reflect Gordon & MacPhail’s long term approach to maturing, selecting and bottling single malts. This approach is built on knowledge and expertise handed down between generations of our family owned business.

Released under Gordon and MacPhail’s Private Collection label, Glenlivet 1974 reflects a range of single malt whiskies personally selected by the Directors of Gordon & MacPhail. Each is of exceptional age and rarity, and of outstanding character and quality.

The year 1995 Gordon & MacPhail celebrated 100 years since it’s founding in 1895.  Since its humble beginnings as a family grocers, tea, wine and spirit merchant, Gordon and MacPhail had grown to become a diverse business with a number of different interests including the retailing, wholesaling, exporting and bottling of single malt Scotch whisky.

It was always the ambition of John Urquart and subsequent generations of the Urquhart family that one day Gordon & MacPhail would own and manage a distillery of its own.  This dream became a reality in 1993 when the company purchased Benromach Distillery in Forres.  At the time the distillery was virtually derelict, and all the fixtures and fittings had been ripped out and sold by the previous owners.  Drawing upon generations of expertise in the whisky industry, Benromach was carefully re-equipped ready to recommence operation before HRH Prince Charles officially reopened it in 1998.   From a small and almost lost distillery emerged a single malt with distinctive qualities reflecting its exclusive hand made credentials as well as encapsulating the self-reliance, sophistication and modern values of Scotland today.

Located on the outskirts of the ancient market town of Forres and known as Speyside’s smallest working distillery, Benromach is one of Scotland’s best kept secrets.

2010 marks the launch date of the world’s oldest single malt Scotch whisky by Gordon and MacPhail.  The launch was held at Edinburgh Castle and sparked international interest among collectors and consumers alike.  Within minutes of the launch, enquiries from throughout the world came flooding in, with the entire stock of 70cl decanters sold or reserved within a fortnight.  Press interest was incredible, with coverage of the launch gained in the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Russia, South Africa, India, China, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia to name but a few!

Released under Gordon & MacPhail’s ‘Generations’ brand, Mortlach 70 Years Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky was finally revealed – and tasted – by special guests at a launch in the atmospheric setting of Edinburgh Castle’s Queen Anne Room. One precious bottle of Mortlach was piped into the Castle, escorted by guards from The Highlanders (4th Battalion).

At 11 am on the 8th of March, Gordon and MacPhail returned to the magnificent surroundings of Edinburgh Castle to celebrate the release of a second ancient single malt- a Glenlivet 70 Years Old which was unveiled to the press and guests from throughout the world.