The Macallan TIME : SPACE Launch [Tasted: #684]

Last week, Martin and I had the pleasure of attending events for The Macallan TIME:SPACE Collection in both Hong Kong and Sydney, as a celebration of the distillery’s 200th anniversary. The events took us on a journey through The Macallan’s storied past, from founder Alexander Reid’s dedication to quality in 1824 to the wartime ingenuity that shaped its legacy.

The Sydney launch event featured tastings of Macallan’s Classic Cut and 18yo expressions, two drams that beautifully reflect the distillery’s artistry. The Classic Cut 2023, bottled at 50.3% ABV, showcased vibrant notes of orchard fruits, elderflower, and citrus with hints of almond biscotti and toasted oak. Meanwhile, the 18yo Sherry Oak has rich layers of dried fruit, spice, and chocolate, a classic Macallan.

At the heart of the celebration was the unveiling of TIME : SPACE, a dual-chambered vessel housing two extraordinary whiskies. The 1940 Vintage, aged an astonishing 84 years, matured in meticulously selected sherry casks. Representing the future, the 2018 Vintage is a youthful 5-year-old whisky, marking the first distillate from Macallan’s state-of-the-art distillery.

Also revealed was TIME : SPACE Mastery, a stunning single malt created from 14 exceptional cask types. This whisky delivers rich layers of dates, pineapple, and coffee, all while retaining Macallan’s signature elegance. Presented in a circular bottle symbolising the cycle of time, the red case, complete with 200 spikes, is a bold celebration of the distillery’s bicentennial milestone.

With only 200 units of TIME : SPACE dual-chambered bottle available globally, the TIME : SPACE Mastery is the more accessible of the two (priced at $2,700 and arriving in Australia in November 2024, with the exact number of bottles produced not disclosed). The TIME : SPACE Collection is more than a celebration of the past—it’s a toast to the future of The Macallan's whisky mastery. 

Having both recently sampled the TIME : SPACE Mastery, here are our thoughts:

The Macallan TIME : SPACE Mastery (43.6% ABV, Speyside, Scotland, A$2,700 / $11,000HKD)

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Colour: Rich honey gold.

Nose (Hendy): A captivating aroma unfolds with a gentle musky scent, with a mix of ripe summer fruits—peaches and apricots—balanced by the sweetness of dates, figs and dried fruits. Subtle notes of chocolate with sweet oak.

Nose (Martin): There's a maturity here that (despite its years) you don't find on the 18yo. Not to the same extent anyway. Deep rich zesty coffee notes follow, rich honey notes, with some underlying milk chocolate and ginger. If you look hard enough, slight hints of tropical stone fruits (peaches mostly) appear.

Palate (Hendy): The palate opens up with soft ginger spices, offering a delicate palate with a touch of gunpowder before giving way to layers of citrus, oranges and honey bring a level of sweetness, with sweet oak at the end.

Palate (Martin): Viscous and mouth-filling, with notes of mature oak, a slightly earthiness (which increases over time), some orange zest, dates, maple syrup, ginger and caramel. It doesn't feel like 43% in the mouth - I'd say closer to 46-48%. Power and finesse here.  

Finish (Hendy): Long and lingering, with a gentle, soft spice and fading into notes of vanilla. It was a good Macallan.

Finish (Martin): Long, quite drying, with hints of oak, some BBQ pineapple, Oranges and residual peach notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 

93/100 (Hendy) 

92/100 (Martin)

Martin's final comments: Having also tried this side-by-side with the 2023 18yo Sherry Oak, I can confidently say it stands well above as a much more rich, viscous, sherried dram with significantly more complexity. It also has those hints of tropical notes shining through which you just don't get on the 18yo (Lead Whisky Maker Euan Kennedy, who presented our tasting, said he finds the tropical notes tend to come through at around 20 years of age). That said, whether the increased complexity and richness (and admittedly, very cool bottle design) justifies the price jump over the 18yo is a personal decision everyone will have to make for themselves...

Here’s to the next 200 years of Macallan.


Cheers,
Hendy.

Macallan Edition No.6 Hong Kong Launch [Tasted #499]

The Macallan "Edition" series has become a pretty monumental one for the whisky collecting community. What started 6 years ago with a ~$700HKD release (which some instantly dismissed as just another NAS) has gone onto become a highly sought-after series, with Edition No.1 now fetching almost $13,000HKD at auction (more importantly though, it was a good whisky).

The events hosted by Edrington HK have been equally monumental too, in particular the Edition No.2 launch dinner at VEA, Edition No.3 launch party with Roja Dove & Edition No.4 lunch to celebrate the new distillery (my luck ran out with Edition No.5 - I was out of town).

..and then just a few weeks ago, the party came to an end, with the launch of Edition No.6.

Celebrating the River Spey, which runs through the distillery estate and serves as the water source for all Macallan whisky, Edition No.6 was launched in HK at a series of lunches and dinners held at K11 Musea. Hosted by the ever-knowledgable Patricia Byott (Brand Ambassador for The Macallan HK and Macau), the aquatic-themed room saw diners at appropriately socially-distanced tables enjoy a 4 course meal paired with, for a change, three cocktails (all made with Edition No.6), followed by a neat serving of Edition No.6. 

With dishes including Scallop, Sea Bass and Crab, there was a clear theme to the event, which was further emphasised when the neat drams of Edition No.6 were handed out, and the curtains opened to reveal a fishing set up on the "banks" of Victoria Harbour.

 

As per tradition, The Macallan give a little more detail on the box for Edition No.6 than most of their core range, so we know that this release is comprised of a number of cask styles including:

• American Oak Tevasa butts
• Euopean Oak JMM hogsheads
• European Oak Tevasa butts and hogsheads
• European and American Oak refill butts; and
• American Oak Vasyma butts

(Butts make up 74% of the whisky, hogsheads the other 26%)

Bottled at 48.6% ABV, the whisky retails for $1,103HKD and is available now. Whilst the exact outturn isn't known, with 393 casks in the vatting, this release seems to be a bit smaller than the previous releases, with the exception of Edition No.1 and perhaps No.2. If you're thinking of grabbing one, probably best to do so sooner rather than later.

 

The Macallan Edition No.6 (48.6% ABV, NAS, Speyside, $1,103HKD)

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Colour: Caramel gold.

Nose: Ginger, orange, notes of oak, raisins and dark chocolate. So far, so good!

Palate: Rich creamy caramel, then spicy orange zest and vanilla cream. Toffee and cinnamon, then a bit more ginger.

Finish: Long, and "robustly sherried" - cigar box, earth-imbued oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Happily, a fantastic end to the series - on par with #1, which was probably my favourite of the series (though now they've all been released, I would like to do a side-by-side comparison of all of them!)

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasting the new Double Cask range at The Macallan Room Hong Kong [Tasted #490 - 492]

If you make your way to Level 5 of the incredible K11 Musea shopping centre, you might find a small piece of Speyside, in the form of the new "Macallan Room" - a permanent space next to Liquid Gold which serves as a showcase for the brand, and event space for product launches.

A relatively cosy space (ideal for holding COVID-compliant gatherings at the moment), the space boasts a marble bar overshadowed by a wall (or perhaps wave) of Macallan bottles, with rare Macallans lining most walls, including a Macallan 72yo Genesis Decanter, Exceptional Single Casks (available for purchase from Liquid Gold next door, albeit not at original retail pricing) and Fine & Rare releases. 

Outside the room sits a more temporary exhibit currently, hosting "The Macallan Extraordinary Wood Journey Exhibition", using photography from Steve McCurry to tell the story of oak (and subsequent casks) that make up the new Double Cask range.

Double Cask is a whisky we first met back in 2016, although at the time the range comprised a single 12yo expression. Fast forward to 2020 however, and the range has been expanded with the addition of both 15 and 18 year old expressions. Both still 100% sherry maturation, but (like the 12 year old), from a 50:50 mixture of American and European Oak sherry casks (the better-known "Sherry Oak" Macallan range uses European Oak exclusively).

As nice as the new Macallan Room was, we weren't there just to see the space, with Edrington kindly arranging a tasting of the new Double Cask Range - 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old and 18 Year Old, expertly led by The Macallan Brand Ambassador Patricia Byott.

The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask (40% ABV, 12yo, Speyside, Scotland, $500HKD / $105AUD / £51.95)

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Colour: Yellow-honey gold.

Nose: Vanilla, honey and dried orange peel. It's clearly from sherry, and has trademark Macallan notes, but (as I found back in 2016), a bit more fruity and less intense than the Sherry Oak 12yo.

Palate: Still more honey and vanilla, with some oak spice and ginger tea.

Finish: Medium in length with a warming ginger note.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100.

The Macallan 15 Year Old Double Cask (43% ABV, 15yo, Speyside, Scotland, $1,150HKD / $199AUD / £90.95)

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Colour: Maple gold.

Nose: The European Oak has started to work some of its magic here. There's still orange, but the honey has become toffee, and there are some sultana and demerara notes too.

Palate: From the same family as the 12yo, but with more wood spice and dried fruits - sultanas, sweet raisins and pot pourri.

Finish: Long, with lingering dried fruit mix and woodspice.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. The "sweet spot" in the range, if you ask me.

The Macallan 18 Year Old Double Cask (43% ABV, 18yo, Speyside, Scotland, $2,200HKD / $499AUD / £249.95)

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Colour: Copper gold.

Nose: Toffee and sultanas, but the orange has become grapefruit, and there's a noticeable Brazil nut quality coming through.

Palate: Less sweet than the 15, with more dried fruit mix, almonds and Brazil nutes, but also bitter dark chocolate (yum) and more grapefruit.

Finish: The longest of the three, with some oak tannins starting to show at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. 

The Macallan Double Cask range is available in Hong Kong now (with pretty keen pricing from Dram Good Stuff I've noticed - certainly better than Watsons and the like). Those wanting to visit The Macallan Room or the exhibit can find the details below:

The Macallan Room

To immerse, discover and savour The Macallan 

Address: Shop 507, Level 5, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui

Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 10am – 10pm 

Contact No: (852) 5988 0777

 

Steven McCurry - The Macallan Extraordinary Wood Journey Exhibition

Address: Level 5, K11 Musea, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui

Exhibition period: 22 September 2020 to 10 October 2020

Time: 10am – 10pm. 

Cheers,

Martin.

"The Macallan Table" - launch dinner at Felix

As we've experienced more than a few times over the years, The Macallan are no strangers to food and whisky pairing, having hosted a number of fantastic lunches and dinners in both Australia and Hong Kong. Their recent partnership with Michelin-starred Felix at the Peninsula extends this beyond a single one-off dinner, offering guests the chance to book "The Macallan Table" over a series of nights and taste four Macallans paired with dishes from chef Juan Gomez, Felix's new (and very talented) chef.

We were invited along to the launch recently, hosted by The Macallan's lovely brand ambassador Patricia and featuring two new drams (The Macallan Edition No.4, which we first tasted here and Rare Cask 2018 Edition Batch No.1) and two old favourites (The Macallan Double Cask 12yo and Classic Cut).

Kicking off with a cocktail (the Glenrothes Highball was especially refreshing), it was hard not to soak up the view from The Peninsula's enviable position overlooking Victoria Harbour and out to Hong Kong Island.

Dinner itself was a four course affair, starting with House smoked Salmon loin, green asparagus, camembert, butter lettuce and celeriac, paired with The Macallan Double Cask 12yo, which played really nicely with the Camembert (and of course smoked salmon and a nice honeyed whisky like Double Cask is always a good pairing).

Slow roasted Pigeon breast with mushroom sauce and grilled seasonabl vegetables was paired with The Macallan Edition No.4, with the pigeon's smokiness and the whisky's sweetness bouncing off each other nicely, back and forth.

In between courses, Patricia introduced chef Gomez, whose Spanish heritage not only showed in the dishes (especially the one we were about to eat), but also served as a perfect complement to The Macallan, with its history of sherry casks and strong ties to bodegas in Spain.

Dried aged Tenderloin "Rubia Gallega", piquillo parmeniter, soufflé poteato, brocolini and Madeira wine was next, paired with the new Rare Cask 2018 Edition Batch No.1). Beef and whisky is often a sensible pairing, and this one was particularly good, with the whisky's dried fruit notes bringing out some particularly fruity notes in the dish - presumably from the Madeira sauce.

The Macallan Classic Cut was served on its own next - and actually at 58% made a great digestif, a great way to break up the dishes and prepare us for the dessert - Raspberry Coconut, fresh thing coconut crunch with raspberry mousse and sorbet. The whisky had strong ginger and nutmeg notes - very different to the 10yo Cask Strength of days gone by, but good in its own right.

A big thanks must go to Edrington and The Peninsula for hosting another successful and expertly-paired whisky dinner. Whilst "The Macallan Table" pairing dinners have ended for 2018, Felix has a Macallan Jazz night on 16th November.

Cheers,

Martin

The Macallan Masters of Photography Magnum Edition Hong Kong Launch (Tasted #395)

We've been fortunate since moving to HK to attend some brilliant Macallan events (particularly lately), including a few for the various "Masters of Photography" releases. First it was the Mario Testino (5th) Edition, then last year's Steven Klein (6th) Edition (we also tasted one of the 58 different Elliott Erwitt (4th) editions), and this week we attended the launch of the 7th edition - the "Magnum Edition", celebrating the new distillery via the work of 6 Magnum photographers.

One thing I like about the "MoP" series is they don't follow any rules when it comes to the whisky's make up. Single cask, vattings, age statement, NAS - doesn't matter. The whisky is designed to reflect the nature of the photographers / photography, and over the years there's been some really interesting releases (The Mario Testino Edition especially, being a vatting of 6 casks, with the package including a miniature of each of the 6 casks).

The new "Magnum Edition" is also a vatting, of 7 casks, and whilst you can read the detail about how each cask reflects its photographers personality here, the one thing that really interested me was that one of the casks was an ex-Rioja cask - apparently one of only 3(!) the distillery has ever done.

Bottled at 43.7%, the whisky carries no age but after spending a good amount of time nosing and tasting it (see below), it's clearly not young. I'd hazard a guess the majority of the casks would be north of 20 years old (but that's just a guess).

Ken Grier, Creative Director for The Macallan was our host for the night, in what was sadly his last ever event for The Macallan. Ken opened proceedings by talking us through the 6 photographers (each had examples of their Macallan photography on display around the room), then introduced our dinner pairings, explaining that a "Triple Cask Vertical" of 12/15/18 was chosen to accompany the first three courses, as a nod to the original "Masters of Photography" release, which was a 30 year old Fine Oak 

("Triple Cask" being the new name for the "Fine Oak" series originally launched in 2004).

Dinner was a 4 course affair, expertly paired as always, consisting of:

Vanilla poached mangrove forrest prawn, smoked watermelon carpaccio, avocado creme, basil, roasted crustacean aspic

• Paired with The Macallan Triple Cask 12yo

Seared Foie Gras, sour cherry jus, hazelnut creme

• Paired with The Macallan Triple Cask 15yo

US prime beef sirloin, black garlic mashed potato, abalone sauce glazed morel mushrooms, cress salad

• Paired with The Macallan Triple Cask 18yo

Dark chocolate 68% cigar, Baileys Cremeux, streusel, Hazelnut ice cream

Of course, it wouldn't have been much of a launch event if we hadn't actually tried the whisky being launched...

The Macallan "Masters of Photography" Magnum Edition (43.7% ABV, NAS, Speyside, Scotland, $26,600HKD)

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Colour: Yellow gold with a reddish tinge.

Nose: Fruity creme brûlée at first. Toffee apples. Then you get this subtle, but definitely noticeable smoke. Not big Islay-style peat (although one of the casks was "peated", we learned), but a definite dry, dusty, earthen smoke. There's some tobacco and aged leather, and after some time, some burnt orange peel.

Palate: Dry - very dry, with oak tannins quite noticeable. There's also some grassy tobacco, butterscotch, some hints of mandarin peel and more smoke, but underneath it all, an undercurrent of dry oak tannins.

Finish: Extremely long, with the oak tannins carrying right through.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. One that definitely needs time, and the more time you give it, the more you discover. To me, that complexity is something I look for in a whisky, so it scores well because of that. Whilst the palate didn't appeal to me as much as something like Edition 4, or a juicy old Macallan Cask Strength 10yo, it's still quite enjoyable (taste-wise), and the nose is definitely intriguing and hugely complex. Taste is a matter of opinion and plenty of others on the night really enjoyed the taste. Either way, it's definitely one to sit with and enjoy.

The Macallan Masters of Photography "Magnum Edition" is available for $26,600HKD, with a limited allocation of 72 (of 2,000) bottles coming to HK.

Thanks again to Edrington Hong Kong for another successful Macallan launch.

Cheers,

Martin.

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The Macallan Edition No.4 Launch in Hong Kong (Tasted #390)

Just a few weeks after we attended the launch of The Macallan New Distillery and Visitor Centre, Edrington HK were back at it again with the launch of Edition No.4, along with the HK presentation of the new distillery.

Ken Grier (whom we first met during the Lalique 65yo "The Peerless Spirit" launch) was in town to introduce the new distillery, and guide HK's media through a tasting of the new Edition, alongside a four course menu at Quarry Bay's ArtisTree.

As Edrington's many Hong Kong launch events have proven, the company likes to celebrate new products properly, and this was no exception. The space was set up with a panoramic screen (showing scenes from the new distillery and The Macallan estate), a large model of the new distillery and estate, and two tables for the forty or so media guests.

After a welcome dram and some reminiscing about the epic Macallan trip some of us had taken a few weeks prior, we settled into our seats for the first course - Oak smoked ocean trout, Vanilla scented cauliflower, Apple creme & burnt caramel splash, paired with The Macallan Triple Cask 12yo (previously known as Fine Oak 12yo). The two complemented each other well, with the whisky adding a serious creaminess to the trout.

Confit pigeon breast, coffee crumble, roasted parsnip & dried sour cherry jus was next, paired with The Macallan Double Cask 12yo (which despite a lot of online comments, is actually a 100% sherried whisky, made from a mix of ex-American and ex-European Oak casks). A delicious dish on its own, the Double Cask accentuated the gamey notes in the pigeon, in a good way.

Before the next course Ken Grier got up to say a few words about the new distillery, and give us a quick run through The Macallan's history, commenting on the linkage between the project and the new Edition No.4. Whereas Edition No.1 focused on cask types and Edition No.2 & Edition No.3 focused on collaborations (2 with The Roca Brothers, 3 with Roja Dove), Edition No.4 takes its inspiration, Ken explained, from the new distillery itself, aiming to be a layered dram, echoing the layering of elements which make up the new distillery.

Specifically, the casks (which The Macallan have always given a surprisingly large amount of information about, for the Edition series), 7 types in total, are said to represent the Capstone, Structure, Form and Foundation of the new distillery, as follows:

• Capstone: European/American Oak Refill Butts
• Capstone: European/American Oak refill Hogsheads
• Structure: American Oak First Fill Vasyma Hogheads
• Form: European Oak First Fill Diego Martin Rosado Butts
• Form: European Oak First Fill Jose Y Miguel Martin Butts
• Foundation: European Oak First Fill Tevasa Butts/Puncheons
• Foundation: European Oak First Fill Tevasa Hogsheads

Our next course was 48 hours braised short rib, root vegetable and bacon lentil, porcini mashed potato, caramelised baby carrot & Bengal pepper jus, paired with old favourite The Macallan Sherry Cask 12yo. Strongly-flavoured meat and a decently-sherried whisky are often a good match, and this was no exception.

It was then time to taste the new Edition No.4, which had been tantalisingly sitting in front of us for the past 10 or so minutes...

The Macallan Edition No.4 (48.4% ABV, NAS, Highlands, Scotland, $890HKD)

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Colour: Copper-orange gold

Nose: Figs, creme caramel, some ginger and a slight note of salted caramel. Honey, toffee.

Palate: Lighter and less sherry-dominant than I remember No.1 and No.2 being. Lots of ginger spice and warming lemon zest. Then some mandarin, more ginger, toasted hazelnuts and toasted oak.

Finish: Well that's different. Oak, but lots of lemon zest and juicy ripe mandarins. 

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  91/100. Delicious - one of the best yet.

It also paired incredibly well with the dessert of Chocolate creme, burnt marshmallow, Graham cracker ice cream and bitter chocolate soil, but then you kind of expect a whisky like the Edition No.4, with its toffee, honey and ginger notes, to pair well with a dessert like this.

Afterwards it was time to head back to reality (and anxiously wait the August release date of Edition No.4), but to tide us over Edrington gave us each one of these fantastic little miniature kits, with a diorama of the new distillery. Very cool indeed (and no surprise to learn it was designed by Bompass & Parr, designers of many a whimsical and crazy setting).

 

The Macalan Edition No.4 will be released in Hong Kong in August priced at $890HKD. Thanks to Edrington HK to the invitation to the launch (and for the beautiful collectible miniature diorama set).

Cheers,
Martin.