LOT ID: 0224-918
End Date : Mar 20 2024 08:00 PM
Aberfeldy distillery was built by the Dewar family in 1896 to supply Highland malt whisky for their White Label blend. The Dewars joined their business with Buchanan’s in 1915 and amalgamated with Diageo forerunners DCL in 1925. Aberfeldy was expanded to four stills in 1972 and today can produce almost 3.5m litres per annum. In 1998, in the wake of the merger that created Diageo, the Dewar’s business (which included the Aultmore, Craigellachie, Macduff and Royal Brackla distilleries as well as Aberfeldy) were sold to Bacardi to appease the Monopolies & Mergers Commission.
Aberfeldy’s importance to Dewar’s White Label meant that official bottlings were rare in the DCL/United Distillers era. The Flora & Fauna Aberfeldy 15-year-old that appeared in 1991 was the first and only regular United Distillers bottling from the distillery. Bacardi replaced this with Aberfeldy 12-year-old and, following a comprehensive relaunch in 2014, now release several older age statement Aberfeldy whiskies and regular limited editions. Independent Aberfeldy is easy to find and usually excellent quality.
Founded in Elgin as a merchant grocer and wine and spirits wholesaler in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail are one of the oldest independent whisky bottlers in Scotland. Co-founder James Gordon owned shares in Longmorn, Strathisla and Glen Grant, and Gordon & MacPhail were soon bottling officially licensed single malts from several distilleries and sending empty casks from their wine business to be filled with new make spirit and returned for maturation in their Elgin warehouses.
Gordon & MacPhail pioneered high strength single malts at 100 proof (57%) in the 1950s, and in 1968 the company launched Connoisseurs Choice, one of the first integrated ranges of small batch independent whisky bottlings. After finally becoming distillers themselves with the purchase of Benromach in 1993, in 2010 Gordon & MacPhail bottled the first 70-year-old single malt whisky (a Mortlach 1938) and in 2020 the company released the first ever 80-year-old whisky: Glenlivet 1940.