The Macallan distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Craigellachie, Moray. The Macallan Distillers Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Edrington Group, which purchased the brand from Highland Distillers in 1999. The Macallan is generally considered be the second or third highest-selling single-malt scotch, next to Glenfiddich and, by some accounts, Glenlivet. Originally, The Macallan was matured only in oak sherry casks brought to the distillery from Jerez, Spain. Beginning in 2004, The Macallan introduced a new main product, the Fine Oak series, with the whisky mellowed in bourbon oak casks as well as sherry ones.
Bottlings
The distillery produces a number of expressions in its core Sherry Oak series, the most generally available being the 12-year-old, although the 18-year-old is widely distributed, alongside a 10-year-old cask strength expression at 58% ABV; expensive 25- and 30-year-old versions can also be found. More recently, starting in 2004, The Macallan for the first time started to offer single malt expressions vatted with whisky matured in used casks other than ex-sherry casks as part of the Fine Oak range. Macallan also markets special scotches in duty-free shops at airports such as the 1824 Collection. Many rare, special releases and other small production run bottlings also exist.
Publicity and marketing
In 2001, Michael Martin selected The Macallan 10 Years Old as the official Scotch of the Speaker of the House of Commons, even though Martin himself had given up drinking alcohol. He did smell whiskies to make his selection. This selection continued the tradition of the Speaker designating an official single malt. In 2003, The Macallan started laboratory tests to determine if some antique whiskies purchased for their collection were forgeries, perhaps generated by a dealer with mafia ties. In 2004, it was revealed that laboratory testing had determined at least 11 bottles in its antique whisky collection were fakes. Although The Macallan had tested the paper of the labels and were satisfied the whiskies were genuine, additional tests on the contents of some bottles revealed whisky believed to be only 10 years old. David Cox, director of fine and rare whiskies for The Macallan, said, "As a result of these tests from now on, no antique bottles from the antique collection held at the distillery will be made available for sale." In 2007, a bottle of 1926 The Macallan was sold at a Christie's auction for $54,000, making it one of the most expensive bottles of whisky ever sold. In 2010, a bottle of The Macallan 64-year-old single malt whisky in a one-of-a-kind "Lalique: Cire Perdue" crystal decanter was sold for $460,000 at an auction at Sotheby's in New York City. All proceeds from the sale were donated to, an organization that helps provide access to clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. In 2012, The Macallan received the Guinness World Record for the most expensive whisky ever sold at auction. In 2014, a decanter of Macallan's 'M' whisky sold at auction in Hong Kong for a record breaking $628,205. In 2018, The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60-year-old sold for £848,000 at auction in Edinburgh, the world's most expensive bottle of whisky.
