Macallan Red Collection 74-Year-Old

Macallan Red Collection 74. This impressive 74-year-old was launched in October 2020 as part of The Red Collection. The range also includes 40, 50, 60, 74, and 78-year-old, some of the oldest whisky ever bottled by the distillery.  However, The color Red has a myriad of significance for Macallan, from its founder’s name, Alexander Reid, meaning “the red one,” to the label aesthetic being an homage to the oldest vintages bottled from the distillery in the late 1970s and Allan Shiach marking them with red ribbons in the 1980s.

Furthermore, it may be hard to imagine today, but for much of the 20th century, Macallan was primarily a constituent malt in blends. It was not until the 1980s downturn in the market that the distillery decided to focus on its single malt brand. Fortuitously, this coincided with the crest of a wave of enthusiasm for the high-quality releases that the distillery had licensed to Campbell, Hope & King, and Gordon & MacPhail in the 1960s and 1970s. Also, these remain some of the most collectible on the market. While global single malt sales volume is still led by Speyside neighbours, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, Macallan is easily the most sought-after. So much so in fact, that they had to open a brand new distillery in 2018, a subterranean architectural masterpiece within the Easter Elchies estate, boasting 36 copper pot stills.

In addition, the 74-year-old was created by Whisky Maker, Sarah Burgess and is presented in an oak box hand-crafted in the UK using the same European wood used to make Macallan casks. Finally, the interior of the box has been upholstered by Bridge of Weir using high-quality, sustainably sourced Scottish leather.