 Today,
around two-thirds of Scotland’s malt whisky distilleries
are found on Speyside. This was not always the case, although
The Glenlivet whiskies (the term embraced what we now call
Speyside malts) had long had a high reputation. The problem
was the relative remoteness of much of the district: it
was only after the opening of the Speyside Railway in the
1860s that widespread distilling became possible here.
The drink of choice
The timing was perfect, for during the
decade the devastator, Phlloxera vastetrix, an aphid, began
to wipe out the vineyards of Europe. Within a decade cognac
was unavailable, and when thirsty drinkers looked around
for a replacement - brandy and soda was the drink of the
English middle classes, the popular choice was Scotch
(and soda).
A number of very able young men such as
Tommy Dewar, James Buchanan and Alec Walker designed blends
of malt and grain whiskies to suit the southern palate,
produced them consistently and marketed them vigorously
in England and throughout the Empire. They took off like
a forest fire.
The southern palate wanted sweet, fragrant
whiskies, rather than the pungent smoky drinks, which had
formerly been synonymous with Scotch. To find such whiskies,
the blenders turned to Speyside: during the Whisky Boom
of the 1890s, no less than twenty-one new malt distilleries
were built in the region (and twelve elsewhere in Scotland),
the demand for whisky soared to unimaginable heights.
But the demand was for blended whisky.
All but a tiny amount of the malt whisky made went into
blends, and single malt whisky was pretty well unknown beyond
the Highlands.
The Foundation of the Firm
 Against
this background, there opened in Elgin which had rapidly
become the whisky capital of the North-east - a Family Grocers,
Tea, Wine and Spirits Merchants in ‘New, Centrical,
and Commodious Premises, Nos 38 and 40 South Street’.
The date was 24th May 1895, and the founders of the firm
were James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail.
From the outset, the partners specialised
in whisky. James Gordon was the whisky expert and set about
building up a stock of well-matured malts as well as producing
a number of house blends (some of which are still available,
notably the excellent blend which bears his name) and acting
as a whisky broker.
Among the new shop’s first employees
was John Urquhart, a lad of fifteen who was to serve his
apprenticeship under the partners. He was an able learner,
and before long was helping James Gordon to select and buy
casks of malt whisky from local distilleries. When J.A.
MacPhail retired in March 1915, Urquhart became a partner
in the business, and when James Gordon died suddenly, only
two weeks later, senior partner. His grandchildren continue
to own and manage the business today.
Specialists in Malt Whisky
In parallel with the grocery side of the
enterprise, John Urquhart developed the whisky business,
and in particular single malt whiskies bottling under
license for famous distilleries such as Macallan, The Glenlivet,
Glen Grant, Linkwood and Mortlach, and having his own casks
(often ex-sherry casks) filled with new spirit at these
and other distilleries. He also began to mature his whiskies
for much longer than was customary at the time.
The Rediscovery of Malt Whisky
John Urquhart was joined by his son, George
in 1933, and by the outbreak of the Second World War, the
family firm held the largest range of bottled malt whiskies
in the world. Many of them were unavailable elsewhere, since
very few distillery owners bottled their own malts as singles.
The firm’s foresight in doing this
was rewarded in the late 1970s when the world began to rediscover
malt whisky. New markets were opened up in Europe, the Far
East and North America, and as the whisky producers slowly
realised the huge demand for their single malts, George
Urquhart now assisted by his children, Ian, David,
Michael and Rosemary fuelled the interest and met
the need.
George Urquhart’s contribution to
the spread in appreciation of single malt whisky, in France
and Italy as well as in the UK, cannot be over-estimated.
He was a pioneer and alone kept the amber lamp of aged malt
whisky burning during the dark decades when, to quote a
frustrated connoisseur of the time, “there were no
whiskies but only whisky and, of course, soda”.
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