Founded in 1824, The Macallan was one of the first distilleries in Scotland

to be legally licensed. Since then, The Macallan has built a reputation as

one of the world's truly great single malt whiskies.
To fully appreciate The Macallan, we must understand the contributing
influences of Scotland, Spain and North America, and of their respective
natural raw materials, together with the methods and the craftsmanship,
perfected over the generations, that combine to give such outstanding
quality and distinctive character.

Origins and Growth

The Macallan distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid, a barley
farmer and school teacher. Farmers had been making whisky on their farms
in the area for centuries, distilling their surplus barley during the quieter
winter months.
From its founding by Alexander Reid, through the subsequent owners of
The Macallan distillery in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and into
the present century, The Macallan has been recognised for the quality
of its product above all else. This is the foundation for the worldwide fame
of The Macallan.

Our Name
Macallan is most likely derived from two Gaelic words -Magh meaning
a fertile piece of ground and Ellan, meaning of St Fillan, an Irish born
monk who travelled widely in Scotland spreading Christianity during the
eighth century.

In The Beginning
Farmers have been growing barley on the lands around The Macallan
distillery for centuries. As now, the barley would be sown in the spring,
growing through the summer, and harvested in the early autumn.
In the winter, with little activity on the farm, the barley would be fermented
and distilled into whisky. The cold, wet weather provided plenty of cooling
water for the stills. The whisky would be drunk new, straight from the still.
Any surplus was stored for consumption in the summer or transported to
more distant markets. In the spring, the cycle would begin again.

11

1543

1732

1789

1841

1857

1892

Duncan Grant is granted

the lands of Easter Ellochy
(Elchies) by the Bishop of
Moray.

John Grants son Patrick,

became an eminent lawyer,
later ennobled as Lord
Elchies.

Thomas White (snr.), the

eminent landscape designer,
prepares a plan for the Easter
Elchies estate.

Date of the oldest Macallan

bottle held in our archives.

Work begins to extend Easter

Elchies House. By 1861, a
further 29 rooms have been
added.

The Macallan is bought by

Roderick Kemp, widely
considered the architect of
The Macallans rise to
prominence outside Scotland.

1700

1759

1824

1847-1861

1868

1909

Easter Elchies House is built

for Captain John Grant.

Patricks son, John Grant,

sells Easter Elchies House
and estate to the 5th Earl
Findlater and Seafield.

Alexander Reid, a local

farmer, leases eight acres
from the Earl of Seafield to
establish The Macallan
distillery.

Reid is succeeded by the

partnership of Priest and
Davidson.

James Stuart purchases

The Macallan, buying the
distillery land from Seafield
Estates in 1886.

On Kemps death, his

descendants, the Shiach and
Harbinson families, manage
the business through a Trust.

1946

1961

1985

1999

2008

2010

The Trust gives way to a

private limited company,
R Kemp, Macallan-Glenlivet
Ltd.

Easter Elchies House, in a

state of disrepair, and the
adjoining estate, are bought
by The Macallan.

The newly refurbished Easter

Elchies House opens.

The privately-held Edrington

Group buys a majority
shareholding in The
Macallan.

The second production

house is restored, expanding
distilling capacity. New
warehouses are built on
The Macallan estate.

The Macallan 64 years old in

Lalique: Cire Perdue sells for
$460,000, a world record, at
Sothebys in New York,
raising funds for charity: water

1950s

1979

1996-1999

2006

2009

2011

Sales of bottled Macallan

begin to rise.

The first advertising appears

in the UK, next to The Times
crossword.

Highland Distillers PLC takes

a majority share in The
Macallan.

The Masters of Wood

visitor experience opens in
warehouse 7. Easter Elchies
House and Ghillies Cottage
are refurbished.

The Masters of Spirit

visitor experience opens
in the restored second
production house.

The Macallan Masters of

Photography completes a global
exhibition of Albert Watson's
platinum prints capturing the
journey of Macallan's unique
oak casks.

The Six Pillars

The Six Pillars are the foundation stones for the fame and character
of The Macallan. They encompass the strong sense of place at the heart
of the distillery and the estate, together with our long experience of
distilling and maturing a single malt whisky with a reputation for product
excellence and distinctive character. These, in combination, contribute
to the essential character of The Macallan.

Spiritual Home; Easter Elchies House, built in 1700, lies at the heart
of The Macallan estate
Curiously Small Stills; contribute to the distinctively rich, fruity new
make spirit of The Macallan
Finest Cut; we take only 16% of the final distillation from the spirit
stills to fill into our oak casks. This is the best of the best
Exceptional Oak Casks; The Macallan spends more on sourcing, building,
seasoning and caring for its casks than any other single malt whisky
Natural Colour; the rich range of colours in The Macallan whiskies
is drawn only from the wood of our exceptional oak casks
The Macallan itself; the peerless spirit - one of the worlds greatest
whiskies.

16

17

Our Spiritual Home

Built in 1700 from locally quarried sandstone for Captain John Grant,
Easter Elchies House is a fine example of a Highland manor house,
displaying many features typical of Scottish architecture of the period,
including the crow-stepped gables and turret.
The Macallan estate lies in an area of great natural beauty and is farmed
sensitively, in harmony with the environment. The estate covers 390 acres
(158 hectares), of which some 90 acres are sown in the spring with our
own exclusive barley variety (Minstrel) to make The Macallan. A single
acre will produce nearly two and a half tons of barley, which will yield
around 1,800 bottles of The Macallan.
The farmland is very fertile, with light, alluvial soils, ideal for growing
barley. There is also pasture for sheep and highland cattle, woodland,
beetle banks, uncultivated field margins, areas of unharvested crop and
unmown grassland to attract biodiversity.
The river Spey, one of Scotlands most famous salmon rivers, borders the
estate to the south and south-east. The scale and diversity of the estate is
unique among distilleries and is managed in harmony with the beautiful
landscape.

19

The Curiously Small Stills

The Macallans curiously small spirit stills are the smallest on Speyside.
Their unique size and shape give the spirit maximum contact with the
copper, helping to concentrate the new make spirit and provide those
rich, fruity, full-bodied flavours so characteristic of The Macallan.
There are fourteen of these curiously small stills, crafted from copper,
each holding an initial charge of 3,900 litres.
These stills are so famous that they have appeared on the back of a Bank
of Scotland 10 banknote!

21

The Finest Cut

Only some 16% of the spirit, collected from the spirit stills at an exceptionally
slow rate of boil, is filled into casks for maturing into The Macallan. This
is the best of the best, the heart of the run.
This small portion, or cut, is extraordinarily selective and one of the
smallest in the industry. It is a prime reason for the full-bodied richness
of The Macallan new make spirit. The clear, colourless spirit is collected
from the stills at an average 69.8% alcohol by volume. This distinctly
robust and characterful new make spirit is the starting point for all
Macallan.

23

Exceptional Oak Casks

The Macallans oak maturation casks are the single greatest contributors to
the outstanding quality, natural colours and distinctive aromas and flavours
of The Macallan. Because of this, The Macallan spends more per cask than
any other distillery in sourcing, crafting, seasoning and caring for its casks.
Primary aromas and flavours derived from:
Spanish oak sherry cask: chocolate orange, dried fruits and spices
American oak sherry cask: sweet citrus, light spice, vanilla, light oak
American oak bourbon barrels: sweet citrus, coconut, oaky

25

Natural Colour
All colour in The Macallan whiskies, bottled by the distillery, is natural.
Only the interaction of the new make spirit with the oak of the maturation
casks delivers the rich and natural diversity of colour throughout the range,
from light oak through to darkest mahogany.
These natural colours remain fixed, as opposed to artificial colour which
fades relatively quickly in bright sunlight. Great skill is required by the
Whisky Maker to achieve consistency of natural colour from bottling
to bottling.

27

The Worlds Most

Precious Whisky
From humble beginnings in 1824, The Macallan has grown from a small
local enterprise to global recognition, based on a constant and determined
attention to quality.
The Whisky Maker and his team nose thousands of samples every year
to create The Macallan expressions recognised around the world. This
exacting task, together with the marrying of different casks for many
of the expressions, is the last step in creating this, one of the worlds truly
great whiskies.

29

Making The Macallan

Washbacks

Mashtun

Stills

We mix hot water with the malted barley grist to activate enzymes. These
enzymes convert starch in the grist into soluble sugars.

We produce the rich new make Macallan spirit by distilling the alcohol twice,
firstly in the wash stills and secondly in the curiously small spirit stills.

Mashtun

30

We add yeast, converting the soluble sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Washback

Wash Still

Spirit Still

31

Masters of Spirit
The foundation for all Macallan lies with the new make spirit; from the
quality of the barley, to the soft spring water from boreholes on The
Macallan estate, to the final distillation in our curiously small spirit stills,
from which only the very best fraction is kept for maturation. These are
the special factors which contribute to The Macallans distinctive character
and taste.
Water used in making The Macallan is drawn from our springs deep beneath
the ground on The Macallan estate, close to the confluence of the Ringorm
Burn and the river Spey. This spring water gushes up through the worlds
oldest known geological rocks, known as Precambrian rocks, which are over
550 million years old. The water is soft and pure, with ideal levels of
minerals and salts for the yeast to ferment the sugary solution (wort)
derived from the malted barley in the mashtun. It is added both at the
mashing stage and also later to reduce the alcohol strength of The Macallan
prior to bottling.
Barley is the only cereal used to make The Macallan. It is sown in the
spring and harvested in the early autumn, growing well on the light, alluvial
soils of The Macallan estate. It is the ideal crop as the tough outer shell,
or husk, protects the grain inside from Scotlands cool, wet climate.
32

Barley for The Macallan should be low in nitrogen and high in starch.
The starch in the barley is converted to soluble sugars for fermenting into
alcohol and subsequent distillation into whisky.
A percentage of The Macallans barley is a variety called Minstrel;
this can only be grown by farmers for the exclusive use of The Macallan.
This contributes to the characteristically rich, oily character of the new
make spirit, so important for long wood ageing, especially in Spanish
oak casks. We have over 40 farmers contracted to grow Minstrel barley
for The Macallan on farms in the east of Scotland and in Northumberland,
northern England. All the barley grown on the estate is Minstrel. The
balance of the barley grown for The Macallan is of the Concerto variety.
The Macallans curiously small stills are the smallest on Speyside. They
are crafted from copper. Being resistant to wear, extremely malleable and
a superb conductor of heat, copper is the perfect material. The copper also
acts as a catalyst, enhancing the formation of sweet esters and minimising
impurities, such as sulphur compounds, which can give the spirit
unpleasant aromas.
Their unique size and shape give the spirit maximum contact with the
copper, helping to concentrate the new make spirit which, combined
with the finest cut that takes only the best 16% from the stills to fill
to cask, provide those rich, fruity, full-bodied flavours so characteristic
of The Macallan.
35

Masters of Wood
The Macallans oak maturation casks are the single greatest contributor
to the outstanding quality, natural colours and distinctive aromas and
flavours of The Macallan. We control the whole journey from forest
to cask for both our Spanish and American oak sherry seasoned casks,
and buy only the best of barrels from premium bourbon producers.
A study commissioned exclusively by, and for, The Macallan in 1999
showed that the exceptional oak sherry casks account for some 60%
of the final aromas and flavours, so we invest heavily in sourcing, crafting,
seasoning and caring for our casks. The Macallan alone accounts for
some 65% of fresh sherry seasoned oak casks, the most expensive of all,
imported into Scotland for maturing whisky.
It is only the interaction of the new make spirit with the oak wood of these
exceptional casks which delivers the rich and natural diversity of colour
throughout the range of The Macallan.
At The Macallan, we can mature some 170,000 casks on site. Over half
of these are Spanish oak sherry casks from Spain. The Macallan distillery
warehouse team looks after the oak casks with unparalleled care over their
long years of maturation.

37

To do this, we employ 25 people, the largest warehouse team of any single

distillery in the industry, to ensure our oak casks continue to deliver the
most exceptional of whiskies. We sample over 30,000 casks annually at
eighteen months and at seven years to ensure the best possible development
of maturation character.
Spanish oak, sherry seasoned casks
The Macallan works closely with the only fully integrated tree to finished
seasoned cask company in Spain, to identify the oak trees in the forests
of northern Spain, fell the trees, saw and air-dry the oak staves before
shipping the staves to the south for further air-drying to reduce the
moisture still further.
The casks are built by the coopers of Tevasa cooperage in Jerez. If the
casks are ready to be seasoned at the time of the grape harvest, they will
first be filled with mosto (first fermentation of the Palomino grape juice,
the most traditional form of seasoning) and then with dry oloroso in one
of the sherry bodegas of Jerez. Outside the immediate post-harvest period,
the casks will be filled directly with dry oloroso sherries in the bodegas.
The Macallans casks are seasoned for eighteen months, before being emptied
of the sherries and shipped to Scotland to be filled with The Macallan
new make spirit.
38

Spanish oak, with its open grain and high tannin content, imparts the
classic aromas and flavours of dried fruits, spices and chocolate orange.
American oak sherry seasoned casks
Some of The Macallans new fill sherry casks are made from American oak.
The oak is sawn and air-dried in Ohio, before being shipped to southern
Spain and built into casks by the coopers of Vasyma cooperage in Jerez.
These casks are then also seasoned in the same manner as the Spanish oak
before being shipped to The Macallan for filling with the new make spirit.
The Macallan is part of the only Group building fresh oak sherry casks
from American oak to impart a lighter colour, with sweet, soft aromas and
flavours of vanilla and fresh fruits.
American oak bourbon barrels
American oak barrels, seasoned with bourbon whiskey are sourced from
American oak, grown in the extensive woodlands of the eastern United
States, charred in the cooperages of Kentucky and then seasoned with
premium bourbon whiskey for up to eight years. We then import these
barrels to Scotland to fill with the new make spirit, playing a vital role
in the triple cask maturation character of The Macallan Fine Oak.

39

The Macallan Sherry Oak

The Sherry Oak range is exclusively matured in sherry seasoned casks,
built from both Spanish and American oak, for a beautifully dark, full
flavoured single malt whisky, rich in aromas and flavours.
The Macallan imports the majority of all new oak sherry casks imported
into Scotland from Spain to mature scotch whisky. These are the most
expensive of all the cask types used to mature scotch whisky.

41

The Macallan Fine Oak

The Fine Oak range is bottled from a triple cask combination of Spanish
oak sherry casks, American oak sherry casks and American oak, seasoned
with premium bourbon whiskey, giving a more complex style.
The American oak bourbon barrels are imported from premium bourbon
whiskey distillers and filled with The Macallan new make spirit in Scotland.
The addition of American oak bourbon seasoned barrels imparts aromas
and flavours slightly drier and more oaky than the American oak sherry
casks, with more pronounced aromas and flavours of coconut, but still
with the lighter colour and sweetness associated with American oak.

43

The Macallan 1824 Collection

The 1824 Collection is a range of single malt whiskies, each telling
a personal story about The Macallan, drawing on its long history, rich
traditions and legendary dedication to quality.
Combining the character of The Macallan matured in Spanish oak sherry
casks, American oak sherry casks and American oak bourbon casks, the
1824 range draws its inspiration from the exceptional Macallan oak
maturation casks, the skills of the Whisky Maker, the magnificent 390 acre
estate high above the river Spey, the dark and rich influence of Spanish
oak sherry casks and the extraordinary aromas and flavours from some
of The Macallans oldest and rarest casks.
Bottled at varying alcohol strengths to accentuate the particular
characteristics of each bottling, The 1824 Collection showcases the full
spectrum of flavours to be savoured in The Macallan.

45

The Macallan Fine & Rare

The Fine & Rare range of vintage single malt whiskies sits at the apex
of The Macallan range.
First made available in 2002, the range has been augmented each year by
the introduction of a new vintage release. The full collection of vintages
represent a liquid history of The Macallan, offering insights into the aroma
and flavours characteristic of this great single malt stretching back to the
earliest release distilled in 1926.
Over the years, the Fine & Rare range has underpinned The Macallan as
the worlds most valuable and collectable single malt whisky, dominating
auctions around the world and setting world record prices, both at auction
and private sale.

47

Credits
We would like to thank Rob Kesseler, a professor at Central Saint Martins
College of Art & Design in London, a Fellow at Kew and Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts and the Linnean Society and Albert Watson, one of
the world's most influential fine art, commercial and fashion photographers,
for contributing their images to this book.

To discover more about The Macallan visit www.themacallan.com

The Macallan
Easter Elchies
Craigellachie
Aberdeenshire
AB38 9RX
+ 44 (0)1340 871471

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 The Macallan MMXI