There is something extraordinarily special about an ultra-aged whisky. It’s not just the nuanced and layered complexity that only decades of careful oak cask aging can impart. It’s more than the rarity that such exceptional whiskies possess or the incredible cost that they can command. Instead, it is the sense of timelessness that they can convey.
These ultra-aged whiskies are time capsules, silent witnesses to events they neither shaped nor were influenced by, yet they are a stark reminder of the events that have transpired as the liquid slowly matured. That phenomenon is what makes Gordon & MacPhail’s release of an 85 YO Glenlivet single malt so mesmerizing.
Laid down in 1940, in a Sherry butt crafted from a roughly 100-year-old American oak tree, the liquid and its host wood have collectively borne witness to approximately 200 years of history. This period roughly corresponds to the emergence of the modern Scotch whisky industry. It has witnessed countless wars, the rise and fall of empires, the economic transformation of the world, and the rise of technologies that, two centuries ago, would have been considered nothing short of magic.
Cask No. 336 was crafted from the wood of an oak tree that germinated from an acorn planted in the Midwest in the early 19th century. At the time, Andrew Jackson was president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln had just started practicing law, a young Queen Victoria had recently assumed the British throne, and the fledgling American republic was still finding its bearings. The Louisiana territory where the young sapling put down roots had only recently become part of the United States, spurring the relentless western expansion that would be the hallmark of 19th-century America.
Fashioned into a Sherry transport butt, a cask designed to hold Sherry being shipped from Jerez to Great Britain, Cask No. 336 made numerous journeys from Spain to Bristol before it was eventually retired sometime in late 1939 or early 1940. Whisky producers particularly prized transport butts. They were fashioned from exceptionally thick staves, thicker than the ones used for casks of maturing Sherry. Their extra thickness made them more robust, better able to handle the rigors of numerous sea voyages between Spain and Britain. The extra thickness resulted in less evaporation of maturing whisky, making for a slower, more even maturation – properties that were ideal for whisky producers.
On February 3, 1940, Cask No. 336, along with four other recently disgorged Sherry butts, most likely Casks Nos. 337, 338, 339, and 340 were presented to the Glenlivet Distillery by John Urquhart, a member of the first generation to own and manage Gordon & MacPhail, and his son George, who is the grandfather of the current generation that now runs the firm, for filling. That means that four generations have tended these precious casks.
They were filled with new make spirit, ranging in strength from 60.1% ABV to 63.6% ABV. From there, they began their long slumber through the ages.
The winter of 1940 was a precarious time. Germany and the Soviet Union had invaded and partitioned Poland in September 1939. Great Britain and France had declared war on Germany as a result, but the land war had not yet moved West. Historians describe the winter of 1940 as the “Phony War” or “Sitzkrieg”; however, in the Atlantic, hostilities had already commenced. On Sept 3, 1939, the German submarine U-30 sank the SS Athenia, beginning the Battle for the Atlantic, the longest-running theater of World War II.
Cognizant of the U Boat threat, in January 1940, the British government began rationing barley to the whisky industry to preserve its availability for both human consumption and animal feed. The allocation to the whisky industry was cut by a third. It would be progressively cut as the war progressed until it was cut off entirely in 1942 and remained that way through late 1944.
In August 1944, barley shipments to the whisky industry were resumed at one-third the levels of 1939. Barley quotas would continue through the rest of the decade and were not ended until 1954. Many distilleries allocated their remaining barley stocks from 1940 to 1944 to maintain some production, although most ran out by 1943, effectively shutting down the industry. That makes whisky stocks from the 1940s scarce, much less ones that have been maturing for more than eight decades.
What happened to those five precious Sherry butts that John & George Urquhart filled on February 3, 1940? Cask No. 339 was released in 2011 as Generations Glenlivet 70-Year-Old. Cask No. 340 was released in 2021 as Generations Glenlivet 80-Year-Old. Cask 336 is slated for release on October 2, 2025, as Generations Glenlivet 85-Year-Old.
By my calculations, that leaves Cask Nos. 337 and 338 unaccounted for. Where the disgorged long ago and bottled as a younger release, or are they still slumbering in G & M’s Elgin warehouse? Gordon & MacPhail is characteristically mum on the topic. I asked and was very politely turned down. Is there a 90-year-old or 95-year-old Glenlivet in the cards, or even a magical century mark, a 100-year-old Glenlivet waiting in the wings? Time will tell!
Below are the tasting notes for the Generations 85-Year-Old Glenlivet, which is being released on October 2nd. At a suggested retail price of approximately $175,000 per 700 ml bottle, few whisky enthusiasts will ever get to taste this whisky. I was fortunate to be able to do so, courtesy of the extraordinary generosity of Gordon & MacPhail. Below are my tasting notes.
Gordon & MacPhail Generations 85 Years Old from Glenlivet Distillery, 43.7% ABV, 700 ml. Cask No. 336 First Fill Sherry Butt. 125 Decanters
Distilled on February 3, 1940, and disgorged and bottled on February 5, 2025, this extraordinary whisky had lain in cask for 85 years and 2 days. This 85-year-old Glenlivet, the oldest single malt Scotch whisky, is scheduled for release on October 2, 2025.
Christie’s New York will auction the first bottle in November 2025. Proceeds from the auction are earmarked for American Forests. American Forests was the first national nonprofit organization created in the US in 1875. Its mission is to develop healthy and resilient forests.
Internationally acclaimed American architect Jeanne Gang designed the decanter that houses the precious liquid. Themed around the concept of “Artistry in Oak”, the decanter design, according to G & M, “was conceived as a single object with the suspended glass bottle relying on the branches for support, evoking the reciprocity between whisky and its cask”. Cast in bronze for longevity, “the armature will gradually patina, acquiring character over time like the whisky it holds.”
The whisky is a light mahogany, golden yellow color. It’s floral and aromatic on the nose with a pronounced aroma of stone fruits, especially peach and dried apricot, along with candied orange and golden raisin. There are subtle vanilla notes along with spice notes of cinnamon, a hint of cold smoke, and a touch of licorice. The wood notes are pervasive but subtle and well-integrated, providing the backdrop to a whisky that is remarkably fruity given its 85-year term on wood.
It’s smooth and creamy on the palate, featuring that nuanced, layered complexity that gradually unfolds successive layers of flavor like only an ultra-aged whisky can. It showcases flavors of stone fruits, candied orange zest, herbal anise/licorice notes, sweet pipe tobacco, and spice notes of pepper and cinnamon. As on the nose, the whisky is incredibly vibrant and fruit-forward, a remarkable feature for the world’s oldest whisky. As expected, there are pronounced rancio notes of old leather and furniture wax that nicely complement the fruity notes and subtle spices.
The finish is exceptionally long, with a touch of sweetness and lingering notes of stone fruits, mild, well-integrated pepper and spice notes, and a touch of herbal licorice.
This is a remarkable whisky. To call it perfect in every way would be an understatement. That it can retain such incredible balance after sitting on wood for 85 years and still deliver extraordinary complexity is impressive. There is little doubt that this whisky will be highly praised. It deserves all the accolades it is bound to receive and a few more to boot.
Ultra-aged whisky is more than statistics and scarcity; it is continuity made liquid. Gordon & MacPhail’s 85-year-old Glenlivet distills eight-plus decades of history into an improbably vibrant dram. Matured in a Sherry transport butt hewn from a 19th-century American oak, the whisky’s remarkable story spans two centuries.
The release is also a meditation on stewardship: a family firm that filled Cask 336 in 1940, tended it across four generations, and now presents it in Jeanne Gang’s “Artistry in Oak” decanter. Whether future casks stretch to ninety, ninety-five, or even a century is an open question. What’s certain is that this bottling proves great whisky can transcend time—bearing witness to the world that turned while it quietly evolved, and reminding us that patience, provenance, and purpose still matter.