The Macallan distillery was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid, a barley farmer and school teacher. Now owned by the Edrington Group, The Macallan prides itself on its Six Pillars, which include its curiously small stills, very narrow 'cut' of new make spirit and exceptional cask management. It is the most sought after whisky for collectors, regularly setting records at auctions all round the world.
A new £140 million subterranean distillery and visitor centre on the Easter Elchies estate was opened to the public in the summer of 2018 and has since won several awards for its architectural quality; with its exciting features including glass walls of vintage whiskies, a circular pod of copper pot stills, and a Boutique reflecting those in Dubai and Heathrow airports.
1861 Replica
The story behind the controversial Replica series began in the early 2000s when a surprising number of 19th century Macallans began appearing on the second-hand market. Keen to rediscover a part of its history, the distillery snapped up as many as they could from auction and private collectors. Shortly afterward, they announced their intention to release a series of replicas that recreated the style and flavour of these antique expressions.
At the same time, a few eyebrows were being raised by prominent members of the whisky community, who weren’t entirely convinced of the authenticity of these supposed relics. Bowing to pressure, Macallan sent samples away to be carbon dated, but proceeded to release the replicas anyway. Eventually the distillery admitted that the tests showed the whiskies they’d sampled were indeed fake. Despite this revelation, or possibly because of It, the Replica series has become increasingly collectible.