Gordon Motion has marked the conclusion of his long career at Highland Park with a commemorative whisky, a 19 year old limited edition called Sherry Skies.
After Nearly Three Decades at Highland Park, Gordon Motion is Retiring
The illustrious distiller, who will be succeeded by Famous Grouse alum Marc Watson, has created a 19 year old commemorative release as his farewell whisky
July 10, 2025 –––––– Danny Brandon
For many whisky fans, the Orkney-based Highland Park is synonymous with the name Gordon Motion. That’s because, for 27 years, this accomplished blender has been a prominent figure at the distillery, leading its production team and spearheading its many innovations over the years. Now, after nearly three decades at the helm, Motion has retired from his post as master whisky maker and the distillery has appointed a successor.
A Long and Storied Legacy
Motion’s journey into the whisky world was unlikely. He was first bitten by the whisky bug during his university years, while he was working on a degree in computer science. He was already an avid homebrewer at the time, but he fell in love with the idea of working in spirits after visiting some scotch distilleries. Thus inspired, he earned a postgraduate degree in brewing & distilling and found work in the industry.
After cutting his teeth at a few breweries and a malting house, Motion was hired by Edrington in 1998 as an assistant to Famous Grouse master blender John Ramsay, an accomplished industry veteran who also worked on Cutty Sark, Macallan, Glenrothes, and Highland Park. Ramsay was a mentor to Motion during their time together and, after his retirement in 2009, he named Motion as his successor.
As master blender, Motion’s focus remained on Famous Grouse for some time, but as Edrington’s attention shifted from blends to the emerging single malt market, Motion was put at the helm of Highland Park. Motion was responsible for working on some of the distillery’s most impressive projects, including a string of ultra-aged releases like Highland Park 56 year old—comprising 10 barrels Motion found when he first joined the brand that he finished in oloroso barrels and released this year. Most notably, in 2020 Motion was responsible for launching the high-scoring Highland Park Cask Strength series—the fourth batch of which was named our No. 2 Whisky of 2023.
“I want to thank Highland Park for being my home for close to three decades. As I reflect on those, there have been some truly special moments,” said Motion in a statement. “From selecting 10 exceptional casks from 1968 to create landmark releases like our 56 year old, through to playing a pivotal role in the growth of our single malt portfolio, together with introducing our first Cask Strength and Global Travel Retail releases to the world, it’s been a great privilege and even better fun to have been a custodian of this truly great single malt whisky.”
The Heir Apparent
The role of master whisky maker at Highland Park is now filled by blender Marc Watson, who brings with him 11 years of experience. In many ways, Watson seems like a very natural pick for a successor. He graduated with a master’s degree in brewing and distilling from Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh—the same university Motion earned his postgrad degree from—and later found work as the distillery and operations manager for Holyrood, a small Lowlands distillery that brings a brewing perspective to scotch with a focus on specialty malts and exotic yeast strains.
More recently, Watson was named master blender for Famous Grouse and its sister label Naked Malt in 2023. Watson’s turn at the wheel would be short-lived, as Edrington would sell both brands to William Grant & Sons last September. The deal officially closed last week, with this announcement coming just in time for Edrington to kill two birds with one stone: finding a suitable successor for Motion, while keeping Watson in the Edrington family.
Commemorative Release
Coinciding with his retirement, Motion announced that he would be releasing one last whisky to commemorate his time at Highland Park. This expression, called Sherry Skies, is a 19 year old single malt that was aged in nine different casks: six that previously held sherry and three bourbon barrels. The final product is bottled at 48.8%, and is said to have notes of jammy dried fruits, sweet tannic spices, and aromatic smoke coming from the island’s local heathered peat.
The bittersweet news is that Sherry Skies will not be available at retail in the U.S. But, should you find yourself in Scotland, bottles can be purchased from the distillery, at Highland Park’s whisky store on Albert Street in Orkney, or via the brand’s website. It has a suggested retail price of £265 (or around $359) and only 1,200 bottles were produced.
