The Macallan Honors 200 Years with The TIME : SPACE Collection
With their new TIME : SPACE Mastery release, the prestigious single malt scotch brand continues a milestone celebration
Earlier this year, The Macallan made headlines with the first release in their TIME : SPACE Collection in celebration of their 200 anniversary. Bottled in one circular, dual-chamber vessel, TIME : SPACE ingeniously coupled a 1940 single malt scotch whisky vintage with the first-ever release (distilled in 2018) from The Macallan’s new distillery. For the prestigious Speyside scotch house, this debut marked more than one exclamatory 84-year-old whisky. Rather, it was a metaphor for the relationship between whisky and time, and the way The Macallan always looks back at what was laid in warehouses before, and continuously distills for what will be utilized in the future. Limited to 200 bottles worldwide, TIME : SPACE represents the pinnacle of single malt scotch whisky.
Last week in New York City, The Macallan unveiled the second expression in their TIME : SPACE Collection, known as TIME : SPACE Mastery. Though this release also lives within a distinct circular vessel (and was also produced in The Macallan’s signature “curiously small stills”), the similarities stop there. Whereas the former centers two liquids from disparate points in the aging process, this new whisky integrates aged single malt scotch drawn from European oak sherry seasoned casks, American oak sherry seasoned casks, American oak bourbon casks and even refill casks. In fact, to achieve the flavorful layers of the liquid, Euan Kennedy, lead whisky maker for TIME : SPACE Mastery, tapped into single malt scotch from 14 different cask types.
The Macallan’s master whisky maker, Kirsteen Campbell, says conversations began around the entire TIME : SPACE collection more than three years ago. It was determined then that the focus would be time travel. “It’s not just about looking back and celebrating our wonderful 200-year heritage, it’s about the future. That’s why we are talking about being 200 years young,” she tells COOL HUNTING.
To understand TIME : SPACE Mastery requires a deeper dive into TIME : SPACE, The Macallan’s oldest whisky ever released. “That was the whisky that I led on,” Campbell continues, “and with our initial conversations around it, I knew I had to dig deep into our inventory and pull from some exceptional casks. I knew of two from 1940—one first-fill American sherry seasoned butt and one second-fill European sherry seasoned butt.”
The aged liquid was undeniably impressive, but The Macallan team reflected on it and realized it only represented time travel into their history; they wanted to highlight their future as well. “I mulled over it and thought that we actually time travel forward regularly in the sample room,” Campbell says. In addition to sampling whisky for use in their current releases, they also sample younger liquids to see how they’re maturing. “We had been sampling some very special stock from 2018, the year of first distillation in our new stills. We knew there was a fantastic parcel of stock, so we did something The Macallan has never done before—we release a whisky five years old. It’s a one-off and it’s an opportunity to time travel forward,” Campbell says, adding, that “it also shows continuity from our past to our future.”
TIME : SPACE is a very much a time machine—and, ideally, the whiskies could be sipped side by side. “I think that would be an incredible experience,” Campbell says. “I’m often asked which order to do them in and I am kind of torn. I’d probably start with the 2018. It’s got lovely vibrancy. It still has some of the new make [whisky just off the stills] character—orchard fruits, apples and pears—but it’s a single cask, matured in an American sherry hogshead, so you’ve also got a vanilla and honeycomb sweetness and an incredible mouthfeel.” When asked about the notes of the elder whisky, she references the evocative term, “antique oak.”
For TIME : SPACE Mastery, Campbell explains that it is really “a celebration of our 200 years and everything we’ve learned from our predecessors. [On the palate] we wanted to bring together the entirety of our inventory. European sherry sits at the heart. You get that immediately on the nose—dried fruits and soft spices. As for the American sherry, you get the baked peaches. From the bourbon barrels, you get the tropical notes. It’s very complex from its vibrancy to its depth and richness.” There’s a finessed mouthfeel, and immense length. Those who have long loved The Macallan will relish the fact that TIME : SPACE Mastery sings with some of their most beloved notes.
Ultimately, Campbell says it’s about centuries of obsession with quality. “For years we’ve been setting specifications on our sherry casks. It’s natural color, as well. It makes our job harder as a whisky team but again it’s all a marker of quality,” she says. This was evident in New York City, where a week-long TIME : SPACE Experience walked visitors through the heritage and allowed them access to a dram of TIME : SPACE Mastery, and nearby a public art exhibition invited all to learn more.
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