{"product_id":"macallan-guardian-oak-harmony-collection-travel-retail-exclusive-2025-70cl","title":"Macallan Guardian Oak Harmony Collection Travel Retail Exclusive Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2025) 70cl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 28px;\"\u003eMacallan Guardian Oak Harmony Collection Travel Retail Exclusive Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2025) 70cl\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fourth release in the Harmony Collection has been created in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil to tell our oak story in an imaginative, visual and innovative way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe whisky, a travel exclusive created by The Macallan Whisky Mastery Team, is matured in a combination of first fill sherry seasoned European oak casks and refill sherry casks.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThese have been carefully selected to deliver the classic European oak flavours of dried fruits and sweet spices, naturally derived from the cask during maturation, with a long and rich oak finish.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThis release will be available from The Macallan Global Boutiques, in key airports and selected duty free locations around the world from January 2025. There will be limited availability worldwide.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003eIn Harmony with Nature\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo brands dedicated to constant innovation, this collaboration is inspired by a shared respect for creativity and reverence for the natural world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor this release, we focus on our own area of expertise and mastery which is represented by oak. Oak runs through every facet of The Macallan and our exceptional sherry seasoned oak casks are the single greatest contributor to the outstanding quality, distinctive aromas and flavours of our whisky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Macallan continuously draws inspiration from nature. The Harmony Collection, Guardian Oak is a reminder of the importance of both the connection with our natural environment and of preserving it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThis latest Harmony release reflects the influence of sherry seasoned oak casks to our whisky mastery. Over time, our new make spirit matures in the cask to create a liquid that is reflective of our deep connection with nature, drawing both natural colour and flavour from its interaction with the oak wood.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eFrom the Cirque du Soleil SPIRIT Experience, two key characters will each bring to life the oak story.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe beautiful illustration features a human figure, Davonna, intricately intertwined within the branches of a European oak tree. This design emphasizes the importance of the connection between the natural world and human experience. It conveys the life and wonder that bloom when humans are “In Harmony with nature.”\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe design also incorporates thistles, representing Scotland and the resilience of nature. They also symbolise Scottish rich natural heritage. The human representation links to Cirque du Soleil human performance and potential.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003eTASTING NOTES\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNose: Rich dried fruits of dates, figs and raisins mingle with orange peel, dark chocolate and hints of warming nutmeg.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePalate: Sticky ginger syrup sweetness and a burst of orange lead to opulent glazed dates, cherries and plump sultanas alongside rich oak and sweet spices\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinish: Long and rich with oak and star anise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout Macallan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMacallan is an excellent example of the significance of size on whisky character. It is a large producer certainly, but its spirit stills are small (3,900 litres). This is a major contributing factor to the rich and oily nature of its new make.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven with an extremely tight (ie small) cut there is little time for copper to do its lightening job on spirit vapour in tiny stills the lyne arms of which are so acutely angled. The opposite applies to maturation, however, where the balance between large and small is more fully revealed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat heavy new make then goes into large, predominantly 500-litre ex-Sherry casks (made of both European and American oak). A large surface-to-volume ratio means that maturation will take longer – Macallan, it is widely agreed, hits its stride fully in its mid-teens. A heavy new make will also require longer in cask to lose any vestigial sulphurous notes. The nature of the extractives in the European oak (higher levels of tannin, powerful clove and resinous aromas) also needs a heavy spirit to achieve balance. American oak, on the other hand, adds and enhances sweetness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo colour adjustment takes place at Macallan, meaning that each vatting needs to not only replicate the previous one in terms of aroma and taste, but must hit the same hue, despite every cask having a different tint. It is this understanding of the way in which colour is an indication of character which was behind whisky-maker Bob Dalgarno’s creation of the ‘1824 Range’ in 2013.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the original farm distilleries of Speyside, Macallan became legal in 1824 when Alexander Reid obtained (or was persuaded to obtain) one of the new licences issued after the passing of the 1823 Excise Act. In 1868, James Stuart took the lease and rebuilt the plant. His ownership ended in 1892, when he sold Macallan to one of the giants of Victorian distilling, Roderick Kemp, who had previously owned Talisker. Kemp’s descendants – in particular the Shiach family – retained ownership until the 1996 takeover by Highland Distillers (now Edrington).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe plant has continually been expanded from its original wooden shed with two stills. It was increased to five stills (two wash, three spirit) in 1954 and then more significantly in 1965 when a new stillhouse with seven stills was built. This process continued throughout the 1970s with the total number of stills reaching 21 by 1975.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a distillery which has become synonymous with the growth of single malt, it is worth remembering that Macallan has always been an important malt for blending. It wasn’t until the early 1980s, faced with a downturn in the market for fillings, that Macallan decided to focus more strongly on the then new single malt category.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe management team of Allan Shiach, Frank Newlands, Hugh Mitcalfe and Willie Phillips oversaw a campaign which both positioned the malt as a 'first-growth whisky' it called 'the Cognac of whisky', while always retaining a somewhat bohemian and irreverent approach to advertising and promotion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA firm belief in the fusion of the oily, heavy, new make style and ex-Sherry casks saw Macallan, under Edrington’s governance, become the first distillery to create so-called ‘bespoke’ casks: selecting specific trees (predominantly in northern Spain, though some American oak is specified), and then with Jerez-based cooper Tevasa specifying the length and nature of drying, type of coopering, the liquid used for seasoning (oloroso) and the duration of that process. Investment in wood has increased significantly in recent years, with a complex of massive warehouses being built on the estate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn recent years, a greater emphasis has been placed on the nascent luxury whisky market with bottlings of 50- and 60-year-old Macallan in Lalique decanters, the creation of the Fine \u0026amp; Rare vintage range dating back to 1926, and the Masters of Photography series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis has not been without controversy. Its growing status as a collectable malt saw Macallan become the victim of fakers in the late 1990s. The subsequent investigation has, however, helped establish a methodology to check the authenticity of suspicious bottlings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn a whisky-making front, 2004 saw the introduction of Fine Oak, where American oak ex-Sherry casks and some ex-Bourbon casks were used in a mirror range to the ‘classic’ 100% ex-Sherry range. Though old Macallan lovers protested, the lighter, sweeter, flavour profile brought in new drinkers, mostly in new markets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 1824 Range, a four-strong series not carrying age statements which replaced some of the younger expressions in the portfolio, followed in 2013, using whisky colour as a communication and branding device.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe second stillhouse was brought back on stream in 2008, and in 2013 it was announced that a completely new, £100m distillery was to be built.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe new distillery – a distinctive subterranean design – was commissioned on 9 November 2017 and opened officially in May 2018, at a final cost of £140m.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e44.2% ABV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70cl\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macallan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54523933065541,"sku":"5010314313708","price":289.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0941\/9495\/8661\/files\/4789219899_7cd5620e-a2ae-4c6e-ae1f-c41a9fd090c3.jpg?v=1746551249","url":"https:\/\/b1yyjg-bk.myshopify.com\/products\/macallan-guardian-oak-harmony-collection-travel-retail-exclusive-2025-70cl","provider":"Whisky Situation Old","version":"1.0","type":"link"}