You’ve probably sipped a 10- or 12-year-old whiskey from The Macallan a few times. You may have even been fortunate enough to splurge on a bottle of The Macallan 18. But you’ve probably never had a scotch that’s been aged as long as The Macallan’s latest release.
The storied Speyside distillery has unveiled a new (old?) 77-year-old scotch whiskey as part of its ongoing Red Collection. The Red Collection, which debuted in 2020, is a collection of rare single malts that represent the importance of the color red throughout the company’s history, dating back to its founding in 1824 by Alexander Reid — an alleged redhead whose last name means “the red one.”
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For those keeping score, the The Macallan Red Collection 77 Years Old was bottled in 1945. For context, that’s the year that World War II ended and the first baby boomers were born. Yet with all the global upheaval going on, someone at The Macallan (okay, probably more than one person) began aging a whiskey that wouldn’t be enjoyed by anyone until 2022.
So what does a septuagenarian whiskey taste like? Well, according to the distillery, the scotch’s nose features citrus fruits, woodsmoke, antique oak, raisin and dates. The palate then brings notes of baked custard, crystallized ginger, marmalade, treacle, sweet smoke and dried fruit. Finally, the finish adds more sweet woodsmoke, the taste of cherry bakewell (a sweet tart consisting of layers of almond frangipane and cherry jam) and tropical fruits.
All in all, that sounds like a pretty tremendous experience, but unsurprisingly, one that most of us will never witness. That’s because the 43.2-percent ABV scotch is priced at an eye-watering $87,000 per bottle, and is only available from The Macallan Estate Boutique and select domestic and travel retail outlets.
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