Glen Elgin 1968 Gordon & MacPhail [Road to #1000, Review #993]

Hi everyone,

It is not often I get to taste whisky distilled in the 60’s!

In some ways, it was an innocent time for whisky; sales were going up, things looked bright, new ideas and equipment were being tested, distilleries expanded. Sherry casks were still good shape and decent supply.

Before the law change of 1986, Sherry could be transported to England where the casks would be dumped and then transported on to Scotland. This is what I would term ‘Old School Sherry Casks.’

This 1968 Glen Elgin was distilled just 4 years after their expansion in 1964 and remember that they also use Worm Tub condensers…

Glen Elgin 1968 Gordon & MacPhail 40%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Complex old nose, old style Oloroso sherry, the most expensive black raisins that money can buy, old Jag leather, rich, figgy, honey, darker tobacco and more waxy after some time. Incredible old nose.

Taste: Soft, lacking power of course, but builds in the mid-palate with rich sweetness and restrained oak, raisin and leather, fig, dark chocolate truffles, old school sherry, dark cherry, good quality coffee.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Oily here, sweeter with fig and plum, orange and chocolate dusting too.

Bot 2000. Nose is high 80’s but the taste doesn’t quite live up to it. It’s such a shame that many of these early 2000’s Gordon & MacPhail’s were bottled at 40%abv. There just isn’t quite enough power to keep them going despite the naturally more heavy spirit. Still, this was a pleasure to try.

81/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #830

Whisky Network Review #993

Network Average: 75.2

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

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