Whisky Through Space and Time

Now for a bit of news. I’ve written a fair bit about the modernisation of whisky – how it needs to change with the times and outgrow the ‘old man’ aesthetic that threatens to keep it in the past. The brand new Macallan collection is certainly doing this.

The Time: Space Collection screams modernity from the distillery rooftops while harkening back to their legendary past. It is a part of the company’s ‘200 Years Young’ celebratory campaign - take a look at this bottle.

I’ve seen bottles of Macallan encased in ornate wooden boxes, but never have I seen one that looks like a steering wheel and a spaceship fused. You may also be wondering why there are two caps. This is to access the two chambers. The outer chamber contains the oldest whisky that Macallan has ever released – at a whopping 84 years old - and the inner chamber houses the first single malt ever produced by their new distillery. There is no need for my metaphors or interpretations here. This is a bringing together of old and new.

The old whisky – a symbol of the past – has been aged in two sherry barrels and matured for a VERY long time. This really might be the only chance to try something like this – there’s a solid chance our parents weren’t even born when this cask was sealed. It contains top notes of charred pineapple and baked peaches – which transport you to a touch of aniseed, blackberry jam and woodsmoke, before finishing with dark chocolate and oak.

The young whisky tastes of golden sultanas and baked apples – which crescendos into the creamy taste of buttery pastry and vanilla shortbread. Truly a new whisky that draws on English tradition as well as the ancient Scottish techniques.

Despite its metallic look, this impressive sculpture is made from layers of American and European oak, reflecting the sherry-seasoned casks that have been used by generations of whisky artisans. There are only 200 – and you must be INVITED to buy one. Once you apply, they tell you the price. Cheeky wee sods.

For those of us who aren’t bathing in our money, you can buy the cheaper counterpart – Time: Space Mastery. It also comes in a cool circular vessel to represent the unending work of Macallan. In all honesty, you will probably still have to be fairly rich to try this, and you still have to enter a ballot. At the very least, we can enjoy their global marketing campaign which will be displayed on huge 3D screens such as the Vegas Sphere and London’s Piccadilly Circus. At least that’ll be free….Right?