Gordon & MacPhail has offered their warmest congratulations to two of their former managing directors who were both awarded CBEs in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours List last week.

Ian and Michael Urquhart, both third generation owners of the Elgin based Scotch whisky specialists were granted their honours for services to the Scotch Whisky Industry and to Charitable Work in Moray.

Ian, managing director of G&M from 1990 until 2007, having started in the business in 1967, said it was an honour and a pleasure to receive the award in her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee Year. He continued: “I have had the privilege to lead two successful family-owned Moray companies. They are two very different businesses – single malt Scotch whisky and Scottish cashmere – yet they share a commitment to producing the highest quality iconic products, now exported to over sixty markets throughout the world.  None of this would have been possible without the support of my family and the wonderful staff at both Johnstons of Elgin and Gordon & MacPhail who I have worked with over the last fifty years.”

Michael Urquhart added: “I am delighted to receive this honour in such a special year for Her Majesty. I like to think this is not mine alone but recognises the Urquhart family as a whole and our role in building a grocer’s shop in Elgin into a thriving business which exports around the world and is now the owner of two distilleries. Ian and I are only sorry our late brother David is not here to see the family honoured in this way.

“None of this, of course, would have been possible without the support and hard work of our wonderful staff at Gordon & MacPhail over the years. And of course, I also have to thank my wife Ailsa and our four children for putting up with my almost nonstop travelling over the years.”

Michael was joint managing director, together with David Urquhart, from 2007 until 2012 when he became sole managing director until his retirement in 2014. A chartered accountant, he had initially joined the business in 1981 as finance director.

Gordon & MacPhail is a family-owned premium spirits company based in Elgin, Scotland. Owner of Scotch whisky distilleries, Benromach and The Cairn, Gordon & MacPhail is also a Scotch whisky maturation expert, the owner of Scottish Gin brand, Red Door and the operator of a wholesale business in the United Kingdom selling premium Scotch whiskies and spirits, along with a high-quality retail outlet.

The company owns Benromach Distillery located in Forres in Moray.  Benromach Single Malt Scotch Whisky is handcrafted using traditional methods by a small team of distillers using the finest Scottish barley and the purest spring water from the nearby Romach Hills. The multi award-winning portfolio of single malts is enjoyed by whisky drinkers worldwide.

The company launched Red Door in the summer of 2018. Created at Benromach Distillery, this award winning, small batch Scottish gin now forms a strategic part of the company’s product portfolio.

Work commenced in July 2020 on The Cairn, the company’s second distillery, overlooking the River Spey towards the Cairngorms.  The new site will add further distillation capacity and brand ownership to the company’s asset base and is a key part of the plans to continue building a long-term sustainable business.  A high-quality visitor experience offering tours and tastings will also attract visitors from around the world.

Since the founding of the business in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail has sent casks to Scotch whisky distilleries throughout Scotland to be filled with new-make spirit, before being left to mature for many years either at the distillery or in their bonded warehouses in Elgin.  The Gordon & MacPhail portfolio offers some of the world’s rarest and most sought-after Single Malt Scotch Whiskies to discerning whisky drinkers globally.

The company’s wholesale business serves customers throughout the United Kingdom selling Benromach Single Malt, Red Door gin and Gordon & MacPhail whiskies into the on and off trade. The business also exclusively represents a number of ‘distributor’ brands and stocks premium whiskies and spirits.

The retail shop in Elgin remains the ‘spiritual home’ of the business, 127 years after it was first established in 1895.  The shop is home to a large selection of Single Malt Scotch Whiskies and is a destination for many whisky aficionados from around the world.