I Drank The Longest-Aged Single Malt Scotch... TWICE (Or Maybe Three Times)

Gordon & MacPhail’s 85 Year Old Glenlivet, in a most attractive decanter designed by architect Jeanne Gang. (Photo courtesy Gordon & MacPhail)

In the summer of 2021, I was invited to taste what at the time was the all-time longest-aged single malt Scotch whisky (I would say “oldest” but that could refer to how long ago it was bottled, not how much time it spent in the cask). It was a Glenlivet, laid down in 1940 for legendary independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail and placed in stainless steel tanks to await bottling in 2020; thanks to Covid, it wasn’t released until the following year. I got to taste it on a Zoom call with G & M’s own Stephen Rankin (the grandson and great-grandson of the chaps who acquired the new make) — if you want to know what I thought of it, here’s the link to the article I wrote about it for Alcohol Professor.

The fact that the 80-year-old Glenlivet was almost immediately upstaged by the release of an 81-year-old Macallan that cost approximately, if I’m remembering correctly, three zillion dollars was a bit of a bummer, but you know, being able to taste and write about the second-oldest Scotch single malt was still pretty cool.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, a few months ago I was informed about the imminent release of a new record setting whisky. It was a Glenlivet from the same batch of casks laid down in 1940 for Gordon & MacPhail, and they’d let this one age exactly five years longer. And once again, my lucky stars shone bright as I was invited to taste it, again on Zoom, again with Stephen Rankin, but this time for Food & Wine (link to article below). Alas, my minuscule sample of the 80-year-old was long gone so I couldn’t do an A-B sampling, but it was interesting to go back to my notes and taste how it had evolved in the intervening half-decade. Which really didn’t turn out to be very much. Glenlivets, I’ve found, tend to age very well, holding off the tannins and having its flavor profile become more concentrated, but still quite bright and floral. That holds true even for an 85-year-old.

But wait, there’s more! After my one-on-one tasting with Mr. Rankin, I was invited to the official launch party at Christie’s auction house, where Decanter #1, along with some other goodies, was being auctioned (you can get a regular old decanter for a mere $168,000, if you’re not the bidding type). And wouldn’t you know it, I got to taste it again. So I’ve either tried it twice or three times, if you count the 80-year-old iteration. And I know that’s just gratuitous bragging, but at least it’s not humblebragging, right? Though I was definitely feeling unworthy in the moment. But I got over it.

Is there a 90 year old Glenlivet in our future? Is the Macallan going to spoil the party again with an 86 year old whisky? Read my article for Food & Wine and maybe you’ll find out! Link is -> HERE <-.