Today, the 2nd of October 2025, welcomes the unveiling of the worlds official oldest aged single malt Scotch whisky; the Glenlivet 1940 85yo from Gordon & MacPhail has been released in collaboration with the American architect Jeanne Gang, who is responsible for the creating the unique decanter.
The spirit was laid down in American oak sherry cask on the 3rd February 1940 and was bottled, at a natural cask strength 43.7% ABV, on the 5th February 2025. There are only 125 decanters being made available worldwide at a whopping RRP of £125,000!
The American architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang designed the special decanter to house the precious liquid. The design is themed ‘Artistry in Oak’ drawing parallels between the maturation process of whisky in wood and enduring architectural design.
Decanter No. 1 is scheduled to be auctioned off at Christie’s, New York, in November 2025, where proceeds will benefit American Forests, a conservation organisation.
Previous record-holders for the oldest aged whisky to date, before today’s unveiling were: -
- The Macallan 1940 84yo ‘Time:Space’. One of 200 decanters filled at 43.4% ABV in 2024.
- The Macallan 1940 81yo ‘The Reach’. One of 288 decanters filled at 41.6% ABV in 2022.
- The Glenlivet 1940 80yo ‘Generation’, Gordon & MacPhail 2020 Bottling. One of 250, 44.9% ABV.
- The Macallan 78yo ‘Red Collection’. Bottled at 42.2% ABV in 2020.
- Mortlach 1939 75yo ‘Generations’, Gordon & MacPhail Bottling. One of 100 decanters filled at 44.4% ABV in 2015.
Are older whiskies better? It is vital that the spirit is bottled at the right time and not just aged for the want of being the oldest whisky in the world. Whisky can be overaged, leading to bitterness and over-oaking. Ingredients, quality of cask and the conditions it is stored are all key to the long-term results.
Gordon & MacPhail are masters of their craft and they are convinced that this bottle is ripe, ready and at its peak to be released. It’s more than likely that most of us mere mortals will never get the chance to taste the likes of these super-aged releases. It’s nice to dream, though.