THE MACALLAN

If there were a Mount Rushmore of Scotch whisky, The Macallan would surely be on it. Founded in 1824 on a plateau above the River Spey by barley farmer and schoolteacher Alexander Reid, it was one of the first distilleries to be legally licensed in Scotland, and two centuries on it remains a byword for quality, rarity and craftsmanship.

From a 50 year old Macallan starring in a Bond film to a 1926 bottling that set a world auction record of more than £2 million, The Macallan’s legend only seems to grow. Its spirit is made in famously small copper stills, which give a rich, full bodied character, and only a small and carefully selected cut of the new make spirit is kept for maturation.

Most important of all are the casks. The Macallan sources sherry seasoned oak from Spain and America, made to its own exacting specifications, and the result is a whisky that is rich, fruity and gently spiced, and a fine expression of why The Macallan is so widely celebrated.