Gordon & MacPhail began as a grocery business in South Street in Elgin in 1895, founded by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail. They were soon joined by an apprentice, John Urquhart. Their appreciation for the rich tapestry of flavours they encountered led them to complement their stock with fine produce, including the many and varied single malt Scotch whiskies of Speyside. By 1915, John Urquhart had become a senior partner, quickly establishing himself as a valuable associate to James Gordon in selecting, purchasing and maturing whiskies from local distilleries.

John also assisted in creating house blends for customers across Speyside. Over a long career dedicated to sourcing flavour from home and abroad, he developed considerable expertise in malt whisky maturation, building an impressive portfolio of casks. He passed this deep knowledge and passion for single malt Scotch whisky on to his family.

In 1933, John’s son George Urquhart joined the business under his father’s expert tutorage. Like his father, George began at the bottom – cleaning, sweeping and stacking. Through carefully nurtured relationships with local distillers and a deep understanding of their spirit, John and George focused on the importance of maturation. They matched new-make spirit to high quality oak casks and matured the whisky with great care, often over many decades.

On 3 February 1940, under John Urquhart’s instruction, fifteen first-fill sherry butts (500 litre casks) were filled at Glenlivet and left to mature in warehouse number 6. A selection of these casks slumbered quietly for decades, eventually becoming some of the oldest single malt Scotch whiskies ever bottled.

It had long been the ambition of John Urquhart and the generations that followed that Gordon & MacPhail would one day own and run its own distillery. This became reality when the company acquired the Forres-based Benromach Distillery, which had been mothballed since 1983 and had seen much of its machinery removed for use elsewhere by Diageo. Their vision was to revive this historic distillery – founded in 1898, with production intermittent since the stills first ran and then stopped in 1900 – and to look back to tradition. After years of planning, they undertook a complete redesign beginning in 1997, and in 1998 Benromach reopened, bringing that vision to life.

They brought with them more than a century of maturation expertise and longstanding relationships within the sherry industry. This heritage now sits at the heart of Benromach’s character, reflected in their commitment to using only first-fill sherry and bourbon casks.

Benromach’s team also enjoys experimenting. Their Contrasts range showcases the results, including releases such as High Enzyme (using high-enzyme barley), Kiln Dried Oak and Double Matured (finished in Bordeaux red wine casks).

The freedom of the Contrasts range has allowed us to focus on one of Gordon & MacPhail’s and Benromach’s greatest strengths: unparalleled access to the finest sherry casks, built on relationships dating back to John Urquhart. Our Club Bottle is an unpeated whisky matured for twelve years in first-fill European Oak Oloroso hogsheads from the Williams & Humbert and Barbadillo bodegas, and first-fill European and American Oak Oloroso butts from Tonelería Antonio Páez Lobato cooperage and bodega.

These casks are central to the whisky’s flavour profile and are the reason I chose this as our Christmas Club Bottle.

I hope you enjoy this whisky as much as I do, and that you take the chance to share it with loved ones and friends during this season of togetherness – because whisky is best when shared.