For so many years, it was a case of ‘blink and miss it’ with The Macallan. Driving south on the main road from Elgin, the distillery was just another one of the dozens of Speyside single malt whisky makers lining the tourist trail.
How times have changed. With its £140 million building, record-breaking auction prices and celebrity partnerships, The Macallan has arguably become the world’s most-famous single malt. And the origins of that success can be traced right back to its earliest days.
After the 1823 Excise Act legalised whisky production in the Highlands, Alexander Reid was one of the first to apply for a licence. Like most of the other distilleries celebrating their 200th anniversaries this year, it’s likely there had been an illicit still making whisky during the 1700s on Reid’s 196ha Elchies estate, which dates back to 1543.
Elchies began life as a farm distillery, where space and cost would be the deciding factors for the size of its stills. While other distilleries bought bigger stills as they moved into bigger buildings, Elchies retained the small size of its stills over the years, even as it was rebuilt and expanded by successive owners.
Elchies House
Sherried style
Perhaps its most significant owner was wine merchant Roderick Kemp, who bought Elchies distillery in 1892 and renamed it Macallan-Glenlivet. (This was a common practice during Victorian times, done to associate Speyside distilleries with their then most famous peer. The suffix was dropped in 1980.) Kemp, who enjoyed previous success with his Talisker distillery on Skye, expanded The Macallan’s production and sourced Sherry casks for ageing his spirit.
That association with Sherry was to be the making of the brand. Up until the early 1980s, Sherry was shipped to the UK in casks for bottling. Whisky distilleries would then buy the empty barrels – until Sherry’s regulatory council decided bottling needed to take place in Jerez.
As an alternative, The Macallan was among the first distilleries to commission Spanish cooperages to season casks with Sherry. It later began selecting specific oak from Spain and the US for its barrels. That relationship culminated in Macallan-owner Edrington buying its Spanish cooperage partner, Vasyma, and a 50% stake in Sherry producer Estévez in 2023.
‘The oak we use comes from across America and Europe, with our American oak harvested in Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky when around 70 years old,’ explains Macallan creative director Jaume Ferràs. ‘In contrast, the European oak we use is more porous and contains many more tannins.’
Stills inside The Macallan Distillery
Hollywood magic
Geoff Kirk, a Macallan veteran who now works with its collectors and private clients, adds: ‘Even when we don’t talk about Sherry casks, a lot of collectors and consumers do. They talk about Macallan Sherry cask being the iconic whisky. While we’ve had changes in ownership, the continuation of that cask policy has been critical through to today.’
The Macallan’s distinctively small stills (see above) produce a spirit that’s heavier and oilier, because the vapour has had less time to come into contact with the stills’ cleansing copper. This richness made it a popular ingredient in blends during the 1960s and 1970s whisky boom. When the 1970s energy crises triggered a slump in sales of blends, focus shifted to single malt. The first official Macallan bottling – an 18-year-old ex-Sherry cask expression – was released in 1984.
The task of establishing the single malt brand fell to chairman Allan Shiach, Kemp’s great-grandson. Interestingly he is also the screenwriter behind films including Regeneration, Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit and the stage musical version of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Shiach and his team oversaw a series of quirky adverts for the new Macallan – including one next to The Times newspaper’s crossword. That knack for creative marketing has continued under current owner Edrington. It includes celebrity partnerships ranging from illustrator Sir Peter Blake, fashion designer Stella McCartney and her photographer sister Mary McCartney, through to restaurateurs Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca of El Celler de Can Roca and the James Bond film franchise. In May Cirque du Soleil performed a three-week residency at Elchies.
The Macallan Horizon
From distillery to auction room
One of The Macallan’s most high-profile partnerships began with car-maker Bentley in 2021, with the two luxury brands sharing ideas for cutting their environmental impact. As well as guests being chauffeured around Speyside in Bentleys, oak from old whisky casks may find its way onto a car’s dashboard – watch this space.
In the meantime, spring saw the release of Horizon (above), a whisky sold in a decanter designed with Bentley. The design draws on the marque’s expertise with wood, leather and lighting. Selling for £40,000 a pop, Horizon is the latest in a string of limited-edition whiskies, many of which have become popular at auction.
A 60-year-old 1926 Macallan broke the world record for a bottle of spirit, when it sold for just shy of £2.2 million at Sotheby’s in London in November 2023. Not bad for a brand that began life in a farmer’s shed.
A taste of The Macallan
The Macallan 12 Years Old Double Cask
Classic vanilla and honey on the nose, with curls of cigar smoke and spicy nutmeg and cloves. The vanilla and honey are joined on the palate by richer cream and toffee, along with dried fruits and a chewy texture. Alcohol 40%
The Macallan 18 Years Old Double Cask
Like a warm log fire on the nose, the 18-year-old draws you in, delivering layers of toffee, nougat and hazelnut. A splash of water reveals a pink grapefruit-like citrus note and more of the telltale Sherried-sweetness. Alc 43%
The Macallan A Night on Earth – The Journey
Cinnamon, toffee apples and bonfire smoke aromas hint at the mix of spiciness and sweetness that awaits on the palate. Like a doorstep wedge of wholemeal toast covered in a thick layer of heather honey, sprinkled with mace and popping candy. Alc 43%
The Macallan The Harmony Collection Green Meadow
Developed in partnership with designers Stella and Mary McCartney, Green Meadow delivers the cut-grass aromas its name promises. What’s even more impressive though is the lemon drizzle cake element on the tongue, combining citrus, cream, and maltier biscuit. Alc 40.2%
The Macallan Horizon
Forget the hype surrounding the horizontal bottle – this is a suitably impressive Scotch. Pear, runny honey, floral bergamot, and musky patchouli on the nose give way to brown sugar, Christmas cake, treacle, and Pinot Noir-like sweet spices on the palate. Alc 44.6%