The Macallan celebrates 200 years in the whisky business with three eye-catching single-malt releases.
If you’re a whisky lover, you’ll appreciate the impact that time has on the process of its creation. Not a drink for the impatient, good single-malt often takes time – lots of time – to reach perfection, and it’s that lingering process that makes it so alluring to spirit aficionados. One distillery that understands this is The Macallan, which has launched its oldest whisky ever, as well as a much younger sibling and an ode to the ageing process as part of its new TIME: SPACE Collection.
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Celebrating the distillery’s 200th anniversary, the TIME: SPACE Collection includes the release of both a 1940 vintage, bottled at a remarkable 84 years old, and the first release from the new Macallan Distillery, distilled in 2018 and bottled at five years young. The two drams are presented in a captivating bespoke dual-chamber vessel created through cutting-edge engineering and limited to just 200 units.
To create the 1940 vintage, two casks were selected – a first-fill American Oak Butt and a second-fill European Oak Butt – both seasoned with sherry in Jerez de la Frontera and matured in Speyside, Scotland. Bottled at 43.6% ABV, the whisky’s extraordinary 84 years of maturation has produced a rich natural colour, exceptional depth and richness and full, long-lasting flavour unique to this rare, aged single malt Scotch whisky.
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In contrast, the 2018 vintage, marking a significant milestone as the first-ever whisky from The Macallan’s new distillery, is a nod to the future. Both are the creators of master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell.
The vessel that houses the two spirits is displayed in an oak (that’s right, American and European) sculpture designed to accentuate the 100% natural colour of the whisky, while alternate layers of American oak and European oak have been selected to craft the display sculpture, as a homage to the brand’s commitment to sherry seasoned oak casks.
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The Macallan matches the new TIME: SPACE release with TIME: SPACE Mastery, a one-of-a-kind single malt with layers of complexity that celebrates the craft of whisky mastery by featuring 14 exceptional cask types, creating layers of complexity with an incredible depth of aroma, texture and flavour.
With whisky drawn from the breadth of the distillery’s inventory, there are distinct influences from European Oak sherry seasoned casks, American Oak sherry seasoned casks, American Oak Bourbon casks and the finest refill casks.
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The whisky is housed in a vibrant red, circular vessel representing the circle of life and the ongoing journey from the past to the future and featuring 200 spikes, for the brand’s bicentennial year.
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