Gordon & MacPhail 1994 Connoisseurs Choice Tormore 26 Year Old

A first fill sherry butt #8355 bottled May 2021. Cask strength 58.0% with notes of toffee, fruitcake, oprgange peel, spiced plum, dark chocolate, oak and roasted hazelnuts. Tormore 26 Year Old 1994 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whisky. Single first fill sherry butt #8355 bottled May 2021 by Gordon & MacPhail for the Connoisseurs Choice series. 596 bottles.

NOSE: DARK TOFFEE AND BROWN SUGAR AROMAS INTERTWINE WITH UNDERLYING VANILLA. SULTANA FRUITCAKE DEVELOPS ALONGSIDE CINNAMON , CLOVE SPICE AND HINTS OF ORANGE ZEST.
TASTE: SMOOTH WITH SPICED PLUM FLAVOURS, SWEET RED APPLE AND SUBTLE COCOA. CHARRED OAK AND UNDERLYING COFFEE BEAN FLAVOURS DEVELOP.
FINISH: A MEDIUM FINISH WITH HAZEL NUT AND ANISEED.

Tormore Distillery was established in 1958 in the Speyside whisky region to supply malt whisky to blending houses. It was designed by Sir Albert Richardson, President of the Royal Academy and is set in stunning landscaped gardens. Resplendent with green-coppered roofs, decorative pagoda roofs, a clock tower and clock which still chimes Scottish tunes, a rectangular curling pond, topiary and houses for the staff. Tormore Distillery is now operating with eight stills in its tall still house and Tormore malt whisky is still mostly flowing into scotch blends. Whilst official bottling are sparse it features amongst the ranges of a number of independent bottlers including Signatory Vintage and Connoisseurs Choice.

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James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail began their business in Elgin in 1895 with John Urquhart joining the workforce at that time, to become a partner in 1915 when MacPhail retired. When Gordon died in 1817 the Urquhart family took over the business. This independent family business prospered and built up a stock of good quality casks from a wide range of distilleries over the years. In 1993 they purchased Benromach Distillery. Brands include Connoisseurs Choice, Cask Strength, Rare Old and Speymalt.

Heaven’s Door 6 Year Old K&L Exclusive Barrel #75 Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml)

 $59.99

It’s finally happening! All of that MGP, which brands put down more than a half decade ago, is starting to come of age. Of course, if this said Smoke Wagon on it, we’d probably sell the stuff out in a matter of minutes. But a new brand, without a record of selling cask strength barrels might be a bit of a sleeper. With the mature MGP stocks having been bottled years ago, this release marks the beginning of a new era. Our allocations from the legacy producers just down river are being cut left and right, so we’ve jumped head first into any good MGP cask we could find. And while 4 year old MGP can be delicious, there seems to be a BIG quality difference in just two years of additional aging. That’s why the prices nearly double on the brokers market between 4-year-old and 6-year-old stocks. Just 2 more years in the warehouse does make a huge difference. This lot of two barrels is bottled by Heaven’s Door, the brand founded by Folk Legend Bob Dylan. It was barreled on May 30th of 2015 and bottled on June 14th of 2021, a few weeks after its 6th birthday. Using the MGP 21% Rye Bourbon mashbill and an ISC #3 Medium toast, this barrel is a great reminder of why MGP should always be considered one of the country’s great distillers. These Heaven’s Door barrels are rich and complex, yet nicely balanced between the sweet toasted oak and bold barrel spice. This is one of the best new barrel programs on the market.

Gordon & MacPhail Linkwood 26 Year Old 1994 Connoisseur’s Choice

Refill sherry butt #12601201 bottled May 2021. Rich sherry aromas with Autumnal spiced and oak. Stewed red berries and cinnamon toffee apples. Bottled at a Cask Strength 52.5%. Linkwood 26 Year Old 1994 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whisky. Single refill sherry butt ##12601201 bottled May 2021 by Gordon & MacPhail for the Connoisseurs Choice series.

Linkwood Distillery was established in 1821 by Peter Brown in the Speyside whisky region. This is a malt whisky distillery equipped with six stills and whilst a large percentage of Linkwood whisky flows into blends an increasing volume is appearing as single malt whisky. There are some excellent independent releases including vintages such as Linkwood 1969 and Linkwood 1972 from Gordon & MacPhail.

Shop Now £248/ €244* / $287* / c$135*

James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail began their business in Elgin in 1895 with John Urquhart joining the workforce at that time, to become a partner in 1915 when MacPhail retired. When Gordon died in 1817 the Urquhart family took over the business. This independent family business prospered and built up a stock of good quality casks from a wide range of distilleries over the years. In 1993 they purchased Benromach Distillery. Brands include Connoisseurs Choice, Cask Strength, Rare Old and Speymalt.

Special Cask TD0325
American Oak ex-Frontignac 

The Special Cask label is reserved for our rarest whiskies. One of a kind releases that don’t fall into our usual French or American Oak styles, these whiskies must also have exceptional scores from our internal tasting panel, and represent the heights of what Sullivans Cove can achieve.

Our next release TD0325, is one of those elusive whiskies. This is the first time we have matured our spirit in an American Oak cask previously used to age Frontignac, a highly aromatic style of fortified wine. The result is a luscious, one-of-a-kind whisky of exceptional balance and complexity.

TD0325 will be available to purchase via ballot on Monday 16^th of August, 2021,

Some thoughts from Julian White of Whisky & Alement

“First impressions are of plump golden sultanas and the expected ‘grapey’ aromas of fresh white muscat are abundant. This shouldn’t cloud the drinkers judgment because everything at Sullivans Cove is about patience, subtlety and finesse. Many other producers physically couldn’t age in a Frontignac cask for 12 years without it being completely overwhelmed by oak and wine. Such is the micro climate, cask preparation and patience that goes on at Sullivans which allows whisky like this to be created. 

There’s a gentle and well mannered tone to this whisky with a serum like quality to the sensation on the palate. Being partial to a Sauternes cask matured whisky myself the Frontignac cask delivers less of the elderflower cordial character, which many Sauternes casks can bring and inserts a sophisticated oak profile that’s never dry or tannic. Sophisticated oak tastes like malt-o-milk biscuits, cardamom infused marmalade and a Scandinavian furniture makers shop. 

The Frontignac cask has brought together column A and B for Sullivans, offering elements of the award winning French oak tawny cask in the form of deep, complex fruit and the oak backbone of the American oak ex-Bourbon casks with it’s toasted coconut flavour and buttery texture. 

Impressively, the restraint shown by the selection team in bottling this cask has resulted in a whisky that’s laden with character without forcing itself aggressively on the drinker.”

Full tasting notes and cask details can be found on the product page via this link. 

This whisky will be released via ballot. The ballot will open for 24 hours from 11:00am Hobart time on Monday 16th of August, 2021. Further details will be sent via email prior to the ballot opening.

A note on our ballot system. 

Our policy is one entry, per person, per household. Our fraud detection algorithm detects multiple entries and removes them to ensure our whisky lands in the hands of our genuine supporters, so to ensure your entry counts, please enter once only. If you have any questions around our ballot process, you can email us at info@sullivanscove.com Successful entries will be notified shortly after the ballot closes.

The latest release from Speyside gem Balvenie is a 25-year-old single malt from its Rare Marriages series, matured exclusively in European and American oak casks and married in a tun to create a fruity, elegant whisky.

Aromas of autumn fruits, runny honey, crystalised ginger and oaky spice fill the nose, complemented by notes of toasted marshmallows, apple tart, cinnamon and fruit salad throughout the palate.

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Looking for new and exclusive single cask?

The intensity in flavour from the small octave cask matches oh-so perfectly with the robust and peaty Islay spirit. Aged 16 years and left at a cask strength of 52.9% abv, we only have 75 bottles of this Whisky Shop exclusive to go around! Notes of coal tar, bbq’d herby meat, and a rich, oily palate full of sweetness and saltiness finishes up with mouth-cooling Szechuan pepper and bags of smoke.

Order Laphroaig 2004 →

The Octave Laphroaig 2004 16 Year Old Description

Lee Westwood Single Cask First Edition

1996 Vintage | 25 Year Old | 70cl | 55.3% ABV

The cask chosen for this special release was a refill American Hogshead and contained spirit from Loch Lomond’s unique straight neck stills. The result is an exceptional Whisky with the underlying fruit character of the distillery at its core. Only 254 bottles of this rare Single Malt Whisky were bottled from a Single Cask.

£384.95

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Today we’re unveiling a new limited edition, designed to spark as much creativity in you as it did for us when we made it. Canvas is bold yet accessible, with a balance of compelling flavours that call you back to the glass. It’s certainly attention-grabbing, with the dramatic slash featured on the box inspired by the work of Italian artist Lucio Fontana. And in a first for us, the bottle’s label invites you on an artistic adventure of your own.

LET US GIVE YOU A FLAVOUR

Canvas is a whisky drawn in bold colours, crafted around an experimental parcel of whisky from the Tomatin Distillery, re-racked for three years into casks seasoned with Vino Naranja. This fortified Spanish wine from the Condado de Huelva region creates a ripe fruitiness with oily, honeyed oak notes, while single malts aged in American oak bring further generous flavours of custard, honey and frangipane. It’s both a journey on the palate and an exploration of artistic design.

WHAT WILL YOU CREATE?

Whisky is our canvas. It’s how our whiskymakers explore their creativity. So with this new limited edition, we wanted to inspire that same spark in those who drink it. On the label is an ornate frame that tells the story of whiskymaking, and we’d love you to fill it. With an illustration, photograph, poetry – anything you like. Then show us what you come up with. All the information can be found on our website and who knows, what you design could even be the genesis of a new Compass Box blend.

Canvas is now available to purchase from our web shop for the UK and select countries, and will be arriving in the US from September 1st. For more updates, keep an eye on our social media.

Share & Enjoy!
The Compass Box Team

Whisky Presentation Box Humidors by Dave

Humidors by Dave!

Have your favourite scotch whisky presentation box upgraded to a cigar humidor!

US$220

Contact Dave at daveswhiskyhumidors@gmail.com

Price does not include shipping or the presentation box.