Glenlossie 1998 (bottled 2014) - Connoisseurs Choice (70cl, 46%) ***sold***
A 1998 vintage Glenlossie, aged in refill sherry casks and released by Gordon & MacPhail as part of their Connoisseurs Choice range of bottlings in 2014.
Glenlossie became part of DCL (now Diageo) in 1919, who made it part of their Haig stable in the 1930s. The distillery has always been hugely important to the Diageo blends, and excepting the staff-only Manager's Dram, the Flora & Fauna is the only distillery bottling, and one of the few from the series still in production. Independent bottlings are more common, but are still decidedly rare.
Gordon & MacPhail are one of the largest and most recognisable whisky companies in the world. Although they began distilling at the newly refurbished Benromach distillery in 1998, for most of their history they were an independent bottler. Their labels are recognised by whisky lovers the world over, and their licensed bottlings from distillery's like Macallan and Talisker in the 1970s and 1980s, when the companies were not bottling themselves, are a huge part of the success of those distillers today.
The Connoisseurs Choice label is one of the most recognisable independent bottlings on the market. It was initially created for renowned Italian importer, Edoardo Giaccone in the early 1970s, but became a mainstay of the core Gordon & MacPhail portfolio in 1979.