The Macallan Distillery Information
In the heart of Speyside, near Abelour, Alexander Reid established The Macallan distillery in 1824. Housed in a Highland manor house named Easter Elchies, The Macallan line currently is probably the most prestigious and exclusive of all Scottish whiskies. In its earlier days, the produce of the distillery was nothing overly remarkable, and when Alfred Barnard visited the distillery, a mere 7 lines were dedicated to The Macallan in his famous book. Things changed for the better when a gentleman called Roderick Kemp purchased the distillery in 1892.
Following his death in 1909, the distillery’s ownership is passed to his descendants, who in turn transfer it to private limited company, R Kemp, Macallan-Glenlivet Ltd. in 1946. It remained in the hands of the Kemp family until 1996, when Highland Distillers Ltd (HDL) purchase a majority share in the distillery. In 1999, HDL where taken over by the Edrington Group (Who also own Highland Park). The whisky has always been popular, and was widely used by Blenders to give their product a “finishing touch”. Following a spike in the Macallan’s popularity, the amount of stills was increased from 6 to 12 in 1965, increased again in 1974 to a total of 18 stills, and once more in 1975 to bring the total to 21 stills, split over two different production houses. In the late 1970s, a decision was made to start focusing on producing single malt, and from the popularity of the brand, that turned out to be a wise choice indeed.
The way The Macallan is produced is rather unique. It’s built on an uncompromising focus on quality, using what The Macallan calls “the 6 pillars” that shape its character. The first pillar is the estate on which the distillery lies, and which has the river Spey running at its south-eastern and eastern borders. Apart from the above mentioned Easter Elchies house, the estate covers some 390 acres of land, 90 of which is used to grow the Minstrel barley, which is exclusive to The Macallan. The second pillar is the stills used. The stills are “curiously small”, standing no more than 4 meters (13 feet) high, and with necks that start to curve downwards very steeply almost as soon as they leave the body. The small size of the ensure maximum contact between the copper and the spirit giving it the oilyness typical of The Macallan. The third pillar is the small amount of actual spirit used from the distillation. The great majority of the run is rejected, with only 16% (“The finest cut”) captured to be laid to rest in casks.
The 4th pillar is the oak used for these casks. Macallan buys its own oak, and controls the production of the casks to be used for maturation from beginning to end, ensuring that only the finest casks are used. The casks will be either Spanish oak used for Sherry, or American oak that previously contained either Sherry or Bourbon. Pillar number 5 is natural color; all color is derived from the casks, rather than being artificially enhanced with caramel. This requires great skill by the whisky maker to ensure consistency of the color over the years. The sixth and final pillar is The Macallan brand itself. Great pride and skill are involved to ensure a consistent level of quality over time, earning Macallan the nickname of “The Rolls Royce of whiskies”.
Trivia: The world record for the most expensive whisky to ever be auctioned was a 64 Year Old Macallan in Lalique Cire Perdue crystal decanter. It was sold in 2010 for a whopping $460,000. In 2014, this record was surpassed by a 2014 bid of $628,000 for a 6-litre The Macallan “M” in a Lalique crystal decanter.
Macallan whiskies
Currently, several core ranges make up the range of whiskies offered.
Sherry Oak series
Exclusively matured in Spanish Sherry Oak casks.
- 12 Years Old
- 18 Years Old
- 25 Years Old
- 30 Years Old
Fine Oak Series
The Fine Oak series is matured in both Sherry and Bourbon casks from Europe and America.
- 10 Years Old
- 12 Years Old
- 15 Years Old
- 17 Years Old
- 18 Years Old
- 21 Years Old
- 25 Years Old
- 30 Years Old
1824 Series
The 1824 Series is also exclusively matured in Sherry casks.
- Gold
- Amber
- Sienna
- Ruby
- M
1824 Collection
The 1824 Collection is only available in travel retail.
- Select oak
- Whisky Maker’s Edition
- Estate Reserve
- Oscuro
- Limited Release MMXII
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | The Macallan |
| Region | Speyside |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1824 |
| Water source | local borehole |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Edringto |
| Address |
The Macallan Distilleries Ltd |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | http://www.themacallan.com/ |
| https://www.twitter.com/The_Macallan | |
| https://www.facebook.com/themacallan | |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 7.6 + 6.3 tonnes | 2 |
| Washback | 36,400 litres | 22 |
| Wash still | 10,600 litres | 7 |
| Spirit Still | 4,000 litres | 14 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 9,100,000 |
Images courtesy of The Macallan
Frequently Asked Questions
Not at first. Alexander Reid established The Macallan distillery in 1824, near Aberlour in the heart of Speyside, housed in a Highland manor house named Easter Elchies. In its early days, the whisky wasn’t especially remarkable, so much so that when Alfred Barnard visited the distillery for his famous book, he dedicated only seven lines to it. Things changed after Roderick Kemp bought the distillery in 1892.
After Roderick Kemp died in 1909, ownership passed to his descendants, who transferred it to the private limited company R Kemp, Macallan-Glenlivet Ltd in 1946. The Kemp family kept control until 1996, when Highland Distillers Ltd (HDL) bought a majority share. HDL was itself taken over by the Edrington Group, also owners of Highland Park, in 1999.
The Macallan’s whisky was long popular with blenders looking for a finishing touch. As demand grew, the number of stills increased from six to twelve in 1965, to eighteen in 1974, and to twenty-one in 1975, split across two production houses. In the late 1970s, the distillery decided to focus on producing single malt instead, a decision that paid off handsomely given the brand’s later popularity.
The Macallan’s uncompromising approach to quality is built on what it calls six pillars. The first is the estate itself, bordered by the River Spey and covering around 390 acres, 90 of which grow the Minstrel barley exclusive to The Macallan. The second is the stills, unusually small at no more than 4 metres tall with necks that curve downward steeply almost right away, maximising copper contact and giving the spirit its characteristic oiliness. The third is the tiny proportion of spirit kept from each run, just 16 percent, known as “the finest cut”, with the rest rejected.
The fourth pillar is the oak: Macallan buys its own oak and controls cask production from start to finish, using either Spanish oak for sherry casks, or American oak previously used for sherry or bourbon. The fifth pillar is natural colour, with all colouring coming from the casks rather than added caramel, requiring real skill to keep colour consistent from year to year. The sixth and final pillar is the brand itself, with the consistency this discipline produces earning The Macallan the nickname “The Rolls Royce of whiskies”.
A 64 Year Old Macallan in a Lalique Cire Perdue crystal decanter sold for 460,000 USD in 2010, at the time a world record for the most expensive whisky ever auctioned. That record was later broken in 2014 by a 6-litre The Macallan “M” in a Lalique crystal decanter, which sold for 628,000 USD.
The core ranges include the Sherry Oak series, matured exclusively in Spanish sherry oak casks across 12, 18, 25 and 30 Year Old expressions; the Fine Oak series, matured in both sherry and bourbon casks from Europe and America across ages from 10 to 30 years; the 1824 Series, also matured exclusively in sherry casks and comprising Gold, Amber, Sienna, Ruby and M; and the travel-retail-only 1824 Collection, along with releases such as Select Oak, the Whisky Maker’s Edition, Estate Reserve, Oscuro and the Limited Release MMXII.
Yes, The Macallan has a visitor centre.