Artistry in Oak is the first Scotch to reach 85 years old.
As Britain readied itself for war, 15 first-fill sherry butts were filled with newmake spirit at Glenlivet distillery. One went on to be the oldest Scotch ever bottled: an 80-year-old, released in 2021. Today, another surpasses it, becoming the first Scotch whisky to reach 85 years old.
They call it Artistry in Oak, and it reclaims the record for G&M from an 84-year-old Macallan released in 2024. Just 125 bottles exist: One will be auctioned for charity; the other 124 will be sold for £125,000 ($170,000) each.
It may seem remarkable that two casks, sitting side by side for more than a lifetime, should both break the same world record. In truth, it was no accident. Gordon & MacPhail traces its penchant for hyper-aged malts back to 1933, when George Urquhart began his whisky career alongside his father, John.
By 1940, both John and George appreciated how whisky continues to improve if left to age in oak for decades. Even then, against the grain of an industry addicted to young spirit, the casks were expected to be around long after he and his father left the company.
That foresight is all the more striking given it came in the early days of WWII, as Stephen Rankin, Gordon & MacPhail’s director of prestige and great-grandson of John Urquhart, told me: “Early in 1940, the Ministry of Food cut the supply of barley to distilleries by a third. At Glenlivet, production dropped by two thirds. That makes this whisky even more of a miracle.
“You had people laying down spirit not knowing what flag was going to be flying over their house when it turned into a Scotch whisky: a Union flag or a Swastika. For companies like Gordon & MacPhail to be laying down spirit through these tough years was a real statement of optimism.”
Another statement of optimism is the price point. It’s one of the most expensive single malt whiskies ever on the primary market. The Macallan placed a $190,000 price tag on its 84-year-old Time : Space last year, but the 2025 market is a very different place.
Rankin, however, isn’t worried about finding 125 buyers. “It’s absolutely worth it,” he said. “While this is very expensive, we want people to see the value in it. This is a piece of British history. To give you an idea of rarity, more people this year alone will summit Everest than will ever taste this whisky.”
Even so, short-term investors need not apply. The secondary market has fallen significantly from its heady days, and Artistry in Oak won’t be the oldest Scotch for long, at least if its predecessor’s trajectory is anything to go by. That held the title for less than a year before The Macallan’s 81-year-old Reach surpassed it. It’s now fourth on the all-time list.
There’s also another cask from that fateful February day, destined to succeed its younger siblings. “There’s one left,” Rankin told me. “It’s still evolving and will only be bottled when it’s amazing. It’s not going to happen for some time, although it won’t reach 100 [years old].”
It’s not just about the age though; the presentation makes its own statement. Jeanne Gang, a world-leading architect in the sincerest sense, designed a vessel that suspends the whisky in twisted bronze stems, echoing an oak tree encasing a piece of amber. It’s a reminder that the cask itself was once a living tree, decades in the making before the whisky even touched it. Elaborate packaging often takes emphasis away from the liquid. Here, it complements it. The whisky’s golden color is central to the concept.
And now we come to the liquid. I tried a 10ml sample of the 85 Year Old (take that, Everest summiteers), just enough to get a good idea of the profile. To state the obvious, buyers need to enjoy the antique side of whisky’s flavor map. Varnished oak and worn leather sit prominently on the tongue, but there’s life in the old dog yet. Any vibrancy or sweetness in a whisky this age would be surprising, yet this has plenty of it. At 43.7% ABV, a drop of water releases those sweeter flavors in abundance.
On the nose, worn, soft leather gives way to a sweet and citrussy note of marmalade. That develops into fresh tropical notes, with a hint of pineapple mixed with aniseed. The palate is spicy at first, with chilli oil, before mellowing into worn leather, dried tobacco and cigar box. Sweetness follows in orange zest and golden sultanas, balanced against drying tannins. The finish is long and layered, carrying herbal notes that linger with a quiet persistence.
The most interesting aspect is an inherent smokiness that sits in the background throughout. There’s no peat, but in 1940, Speyside was a very coal-fired environment. Smoke was everywhere, from direct-fire stills to on-site barley maltings. In that sense, they certainly don’t make whisky like this anymore
Artistry in Oak will be available globally for an RRP of £125,000 (approx. $170,000), gordonandmacphail.com
