When one thinks of luxurious, top-end whisky, Macallan always comes to mind. The distillery was relatively unknown until the 1990s, but soon after its popularity exploded, and Macallan is now the pinnacle of opulence.
As such, excitement ripples throughout the world of whisky when Macallan announces anything new. And perhaps this series caused more excitement than most.
The Macallan estate at Easter Elchies, where the luxury whisky is produced.
Image via Scotchwhisky.com.
The Exceptional Single Cask Series is made up of fantastically unique and special bottlings from a single cask, hand chosen by the Macallan whisky makers. The whisky makers do not go looking for a whisky to join this series, rather one is elevated to the status of Exceptional Single Cask material when it is happened upon during routine assessment and tasting. As a result, whisky lovers can be sure that each single malt in this collection is nothing short of extraordinary.
The series was first launched in 2017, with a range of bottles ranging from 12 to 22 years-old. The collection has been expanded since then, whenever the whisky makers happen upon a dram worthy of the collection. There are now 31 bottles in the series.
Due to the fact that the whiskies in this collection only ever come from a single cask, there are extremely limited numbers of each expression. The highest number of bottles in the collection is 643 – the number of 2017/ESB-9100/13 that there are in the world. The smallest number of bottles in the collection is 111 – the number of 2017ESB-9182/01 that there are in the world.
On Macallan’s website you can read about each bottle in the series so far, including the cask type, the distilling date, the reserve date, the bottling date, and the name of the whisky maker who selected it for the series. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no prices on any of these bottles. The bottles are only available to buy from specialist and luxury retailers in the United Kingdom.
Recording-Breaking Bottles: Macallan Exceptional Cask Edition
Macallan currently holds the record for the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold, at £1.5 million for a Macallan 1926, so it is no surprise that the bottles in the Macallan Exceptional Cask Series sell for astonishing prices on the secondary market. Below is a list of the most expensive bottles from the Exceptional Cask Series sold at auction.
The top three most expensive Exceptional Cask bottles sold on Dram Data are:
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13) for £76,000
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13) for £72,000
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13) for £58,000
The top three most expensive Exceptional Cask bottles sold on Whisky Auctioneer are:
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13) for £72,000
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13) for £56,000
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13) US Import £50,000
The top three most expensive Exceptional Cask bottles sold on Whisky Stats are:
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13) for £45,100
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old (2018/ASB-1683/13 for £40,701
- Macallan Exceptional Cask 1997 20-year-old (2017ESB-9182/01) for £22,000
Image via Macallan
You may notice that one bottle makes up 90% of the above list. The Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67-year-old is by far the most valuable and sought-after bottle in the series. This is due to its healthy age and vintage statements. The tasting notes on Macallan’s website mention “polished antique oak, with delicate peaches and vanilla” on the nose, “intense antique oak with wood spices. Orange peel zest with warm root ginger. Subtle hints of peat in the background” on tasting, and “long with dry sweetness and peat” to finish. These descriptions bring to mind a tantalizing idea of what this whisky may taste like. However, it is likely that the bottles that remain will not be drunk. They are now a collectible asset, prized by those who are lucky enough to get their hands on one.
If you would like to own a bottle of Macallan Exceptional Cask, The Whisky Exchange have a bottle of the 1950 67-year-old available for £69,000. If your budget won’t stretch to that then Master of Malt have a bottle of the 2002 15-year-old for sale for £1,795. But hurry because they only have one left!
Macallan shows no signs of stopping when it comes to production of luxurious whiskies. You can rest assured that whenever Macallan announces something new the world of whisky will holds its breath to find out what spectacular bottlings the distillery has on offer.
