This week, the newest whisky in the yearly series commemorating George Urquhart’s legacy, the Mr George Legacy 1959 from Glen Grant Distillery, has been unveiled. Matured in a Gordon & MacPhail cask for more than six decades, the Mr George Legacy 1959 from Glen Grant Distillery features a genealogy chart on the label, box and certificate, highlighting the importance of guiding principles handed down from one generation to the next.
George Urquhart, known as “Mr George,” joined his father John’s family business in 1933 and became a champion of single malt whisky during an era when most whisky was used for blending. Famed whisky writer Charlie MacLean referred to him as “the father of single malt.” George Urquhart was a firm believer in fairness, understanding, the importance of community and planning, guiding principles that are honoured at Gordon & MacPhail to this day.
Distilled on October 15th, 1959, this 63-Year-Old edition of the Legacy Series (the third in the series) retails with an RSP of £6,499. The whisky’s aroma features a blend of autumnal spices, sweet dried fruit, and demerara sugar. On the palate, it presents stewed red fruit flavours that lead to Seville orange with a hint of garden mint, tart raspberry notes, cocoa powder, and mature oak. The full finish lingers with cinnamon and forest fruit notes.
Stuart Urquhart, Mr George’s grandson and Gordon & MacPhail’s Operations Director, said, “Ninety years ago, my grandfather joined Gordon & MacPhail as an apprentice to his father, John, and his philosophy and principles live on through the business today. Mr George’s attention to detail and unwavering commitment to quality remain the foundation stones of our business, along with a forward-looking approach and refusal to bow to convention. This greatly aged single malt whisky is a fitting tribute to this ethos.”
Whisky expert Charlie MacLean added, “A magnificent old whisky, wonderfully complex, but still lively in notwithstanding its advanced age. Another worthy tribute to Mr George Urquhart, the man who put malt whisky on the map.”
In 2020, Gordon & MacPhail celebrated its 125th anniversary, showcasing an impressive collection of whiskies from over 100 distilleries that have matured in its warehouses—a testament to the close relationships established with Scotland’s distilleries throughout the decades.
