Macallan 1975 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt (bottled 2000) w/wooden box 750ml

The Macallan is one of Scotland’s most famous distilleries, and produces one of the world’s biggest-selling single malt whiskies.

Situated on the banks of the Spey river in the heart of Speyside, the distillery is based at Easter Elchies estate, which covers 158 hectares (390 acres) of farmland. The estate includes 37 ha (90 acres) planted to barley, which is used in the production of the whisky.

A new distillery building with a visitor center was opened on the property in June 2018. The ultra modern facility has been cut into the hillside and features a spectacular, undulating, grass covered wooden roof. There are now 12 wash stills, plus 24 spirit stills.

Production is set to increase by one third.

Previously there were 14 stills in total which were reputedly the smallest in Speyside, although each has a capacity of 3900 liters. The old stills are unique in having appeared on the back of a Scottish banknote.

The Macallan house style traditionally tended towards rich, fruity whiskies, memorably described by the late whisky writer Michael Jackson as “Christmas cake in a glass”.

This was a result of exclusively using Sherry casks to mature the spirit but, since 2004, Bourbon casks have also been used.

Macallan produces a broad range of whiskies, across four main series. The Sherry oak range comprises four expressions, ranging in age from 12 to 30 years old.

The “fine oak” series – aged in mostly Bourbon casks – offers eight expressions, between 10 and 30 years old. These tend to be lighter than the traditional Macallan offerings.

Macallan 1975 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt (bottled 2000) w/wooden box 750ml

The distillery also has various premium collections and examples of these have been among the most expensive whiskies ever sold; a 1926 Macallan sold at auction in 2007 for $54,000, while a 64 year old expression in a one-off Lalique decanter fetched $460,000 at auction in New York in 2010.

The most expensive whisky ever sold was a decanter of Macallan M at a Hong Kong auction in 2014 that reached $628,000.