Strathisla 2009 Gordon & MacPhail Distillery labels Sherry Cask Matured Speyside Single Malt Whisky (2024) 70cl

Strathisla 2009 Gordon & MacPhail Distillery labels Sherry Cask Matured Speyside Single Malt Whisky (2024) 70cl

Gordon & Macphail’s ‘Distillery Labels’ collection is a testament to their enduring partnership with Scottish distilleries. Renowned for their expertise, Gordon & Macphail was among the pioneers in presenting the distinctive character of whiskies from various distilleries by maturing the spirits in their own distinct manner. This sought-after bottling, matured for 13 years and bottled in 2022, exemplifies the captivating qualities of Strathisla as a single malt. Notably, it has been bottled without chill-filtration or artificial colouring, allowing the true essence of the whisky to shine through.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Ginger and clove spice aromas intertwine with baked apple.

Taste: Sweet flavours of cherry and crystallised violets combine with forest fruits.

Finish: A medium-bodied finish with herbal influences and garden mint.

About Strathisla

What is most surprising about Strathisla is that so little is made of the fact that this is the oldest licensed distillery in Scotland. It started life as the brewery of the local monastery and turned itself to the making of whisky in 1786, one of the few distilleries in what is now the Speyside region to go legal. It was known as Milltown/Milton until 1870, but its whisky was long known as Strathisla after the river which it sits beside. The distillery was renamed Strathisla in 1951.

It had a period of considerable fame in the late 19th and early 20th century when it was bottled as a single malt, but by the late 1940s it had fallen on hard times.

Acting on behalf of Sam Bronfman’s Seagram, the legendary whisky broker Jimmy Barclay bought it for £71,000 at auction in 1950, the year after its previous owner had been jailed for tax evasion. It began to rise in prominence immediately as the first piece in Bronfman’s plans for a reformulated Chivas Regal 12 Year Old.

A major tourist attraction with a fair claim to be Scotland’s prettiest distillery, in recent times it has played the role of the ‘home’ of Chivas Regal. That accolade also explains why this is a relatively small player in terms of single malt with Gordon & MacPhail being the main resource for bottlings. A repackaging in 2013 however suggests that times may be changing as far as official bottlings are concerned. 

46% ABV

70cl