The History of Macallan Distillery
Macallan is one of Speyside’s original farm distilleries, producing a well-known high-quality whisky with a name that is synonymous with single malt.
The history of this distillery begins back in 1824, when Alexander Reid obtained a new licence which had been issued following the 1823 Excise Act. James Stuart took over the lease in 1868, rebuilding the plant and then in 1892, he sold the distillery to Roderick Kemp, a giant in the world of Victorian distilling. Kemp had once owned the Talisker distillery, and his ancestors continued to own that brand until it was taken over in 1996 by Highland Distillers.
The Macallan plant has expanded continually over the generations. Once a wooden shed featuring just two stills, in 1954 it was increased to have five stills (three spirit and two wash), and then in 1965 a brand new stillhouse was added, with another seven stills. The expansion process continued during the 1970s, and by 1975, there were 21 stills altogether.
Although Macallan has always been linked to single malt whiskies, it has long been one of the most important malts for blending, and it wasn’t actually until the 1980s that the distillery turned its focus towards single malts, which were relatively new to the market at that time. Willie Phillips, Hugh Mitcalfe, Frank Newlands and Alan Shiach, the distillery’s management team oversaw a marketing campaign to position Mcallan as the “Cognac of Whisky” through an irreverent and bohemian approach to promotion and advertising.
Under the governance of Edrington, Macallan became the very first distillery to make bespoke casks by choosing specific trees from Spain and America, then choosing the nature and length of the drying period, the kind of coopering, the liquid which would be used for the seasoning process and the length which that process would take. This has led to a massive warehouse complex being created on the Macallan estate.
In more recent times, there has been an even greater emphasis placed on the luxury market, and bottlings of 60 and 50-year-old whiskies in Lalique decanters, the brand’s Masters of Photography series and their Fine & Rare vintage range have taken the forefront of Macallan’s offerings. In 2004, the Fine Oak range was launched with its sweeter and lighter profile to draw in a new generation of drinkers.
Most notably in recent years, Macallan has launched their 1824 range in 2013, and commissioned the building of a new distillery in a subterranean facility in 2018. Once it has been fully tested, production will be moved from its existing site to this state of the art structure.
