The Macallan – The timeless distillery: Part 1

The destillery: All about Macallan

The Macallan Distillery plays an impressive role in the world of luxury single malt Scotch whiskies. Located in the heart of Scotland's Speyside, the brand has its roots in 1824, when its founder, Alexander Reid, was granted a licence to distil whisky. The distillery was built at its current location, just 400 metres away, in 2018 and the name has long been synonymous with expressive flavour, quality, prestige and elegance.

Another speciality in production is the use of small copper stills for classic double distillation. With its smaller pot stills, the distillery creates its incomparable house style and flavour profile - whiskies with a rich and full-bodied character.

What also characterises Macallan Scotch is its dedication to the cask. Only casks from cooperages around the world are used. Casks that previously held sherry from Jerez de la Frontera or bourbon from the USA give the New Make Spirit rich flavours with particular depth and a naturally rich colour thanks to their many years of maturation. The distillery uses high-quality sherry casks for aging its whisky, a process that brings rich, fruity, and complex flavors, including notes of dried fruits, spice, and oak into the whisky.

Why is whisky sometimes so expensive?

Older and rare bottles are more difficult and, above all, more expensive to produce. Like for Macallan this could be seen by the Time: Space Collection, The Reach or Tales of the Macallan Collections, just to mentioned a few. This could be because of the ‘Angels’ Share’, whic causes the volume in the casks to be reduced every year as some of the liquid evaporates.

For example, if a 200-litre cask is filled to the brim, the contents of the cask may have halved after a longer maturation period. The distillery therefore has the same costs in production, storage and so on, but can now sell fewer bottles to cover the costs incurred with the proceeds. Therefore, under certain conditions, a whisky is definitely more expensive than one that has been matured for less than 10 years. Another aspect is the choice of cask for maturation. This is because some casks, such as those with a sherry pre-fill that Macallan specialised in, are significantly more expensive to purchase, maintain and keep than ex-bourbon casks, for example, for various reasons.

What awards has The Macallan distillery won?

San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC)

• Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak – Double Gold (2019)
• Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak – Gold (2020)
• Macallan Rare Cask – Gold (2020)
• Macallan M – Double Gold (2019)

International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC)

• Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak – Gold Outstanding (2019)
• Macallan Fine & Rare 1926 – Gold Outstanding (2018)
• Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak – Gold (2018)

Whisky Advocate’s “Distillery of the Year”

Macallan was named Distillery of the Year in 2004 and 2006, and has been awarded this honor several times due to its high-quality whisky and consistent output.

The World Whiskies Awards

• Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak – Best Sherry Cask Matured Whisky (2018, 2019)
• Macallan Rare Cask – Best New World Whisky (2017)
• Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak – Best Sherry Aged Whisky (2016)

Whisky Magazine’s “Distillery of the Year”

Macallan has been awarded Distillery of the Year several times by Whisky Magazine for its craftsmanship and contributions to the whisky industry. Most recently, it received this honor in 2020.

The Spirits Business’ “Scotch Whisky Distillery of the Year”

Macallan was awarded Scotch Whisky Distillery of the Year at the International Spirits Challenge (ISC) in 2018.

The Global Whisky Masters

• Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak – Master (2021)
• Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak – Master (2020)
• Macallan 25 Year Old Sherry Oak – Gold (2019)

The Ultimate Spirits Challenge

• Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak – Excellent/Highly Recommended (2019)
• Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak – Excellent/Highly Recommended (2019)

Jim Murray's Whisky Bible

• Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak – 97 Points (2020)
• Macallan Rare Cask – 96 Points (2020)

Distillery of the Year (Various Recognitions)

Macallan has been recognized as Distillery of the Year by several prestigious whisky publications and organizations, including Whisky Advocate and Whisky Magazine, particularly during periods of high-profile releases and innovation in their offerings

Classic Range Collections

Classic Range: Sherry Oak

Macallan 12 Years Old Sherry Oak

This Macallan whisky is 100% matured in ex-sherry casks made from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation process of 12 years.

Macallan 18 Years Old Sherry Oak 2023 Release

This Macallan whisky is 100% matured in ex-sherry casks made from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation process of 18 years.

Macallan 25 Years Old Sherry Oak 2023 Release

This Macallan whisky is 100% matured in ex-sherry casks made from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation process of 25 years.

Macallan 30 Years Old Sherry Oak 2023 Release

This Macallan whisky is 100% matured in ex-sherry casks made from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation process of 30 years.

Classic Range: Double Cask

Macallan 12 Years Old Double Cask

This Macallan whisky matured partly in ex-sherry casks made from American oak and partly from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation period of 12 years.

Macallan 15 Years Old Double Cask

This Macallan whisky matured partly in ex-sherry casks made from American oak and partly from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation period of 15 years.

Macallan 18 Years Old Double Cask

This Macallan whisky matured partly in ex-sherry casks made from American oak and partly from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation period of 18 years.

Macallan 30 Years Old Double Cask

This Macallan whisky matured partly in ex-sherry casks made from American oak and partly from European oak from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The whisky base maturing in the casks was bottled at different ages. Here after a maturation period of 30 years.