James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail founded the business; a family grocer's, tea, wine and spirit merchants located on South Street in Elgin. One of the first employees signed up by G&M was John Urquhart, who later became a partner in the business and whose family are still involved today at a 4th generation level. Gordon & MacPhail has owned and released some of the most prestigious malt whisky stocks known to man, including a world record 2015 release of the oldest ever single malt, a Mortlach 1939 75 year old.