At the turn of the 20th Century if you had entered Gordon & MacPhail's 'centrical and commodious premises' in South Street, Elgin to buy whisky, you would have brought an empty bottle to be filled from a very large whisky jar.
It is fitting then that at
the end of this Century and to recognise the new Millennium, Gordon & MacPhail have
made available replicas of the ceramic jars once used in their premises. The whisky jars
are now available to those who appreciate a sense of occasion, a sense of history and a
'nose' for whisky. Each of these jars contains 2 litres from vattings of single malts from
every whisky region in Scotland, and every island. The oldest single malt used is a 60
year old and should you add up the vintages, you would find they come to 2000. Every
decade from the 1930's to the present day is represented within the whisky jars. Each
'jar' is numbered and a certificate in the 'old-style' wooden packing case confirms the
limited edition of 500. If you wish to sample "MacPhail's 2000", miniatures are
available, but only 2000 have been bottled. The design, packaging, labelling, filling and
of course production of this unique presentation of single malts have all taken place in
Scotland.
KEEPERS OF THE QUAICH
One year on from UK Sales Director, David
Urquhart's admission to the "Keepers of the Quaich", Ian Urquhart, Managing
Director and Michael Urquhart, Finance and Export Director have similarly been recognised
as making positive contributions to the international success of Scotch Whisky. The
Ceremony took place in April, earlier this year in the Banqueting Hall of Blair Castle,
ancestral home of the Dukes of Atholl.
George Urquhart, Chairman of Gordon & MacPhail, was inducted into the
‘Keepers of the Quaich’ at a special ceremony recently. Visiting Elgin, James
Espey, Chairman of the ‘Keepers of the Quaich’, paid fulsome tribute to Mr
Urquhart’s outstanding contribution over a period of 60 years in sustaining and
promoting the finest qualities of Scotland’s premier export.
This prestigious institution with more than 1000 members worldwide was established over 10 years ago to advance the standing and prosperity of Scotch Whisky. The centrepiece of ‘Keeper’ ceremonies - a splendidly crafted silver quaich 2 feet diameter, set on burr elm - can be seen by visitors at Blair Castle, Perthshire.
It is fitting also that following the purchase in 1993 by Gordon & MacPhail and the re-opening in October 1998 of Benromach Distillery, that George Urquhart’s role in supporting Scotch whisky should be recognised by the industry in which he has played a significant part.
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