MACALLAN SIR PETER BLAKE SPECIAL EDITION 2021

A NEVER BEFORE TOLD STORY…

This single malt tells of a time when the decision was made to continue using sherry seasoned oak casks in the face of pressure to compromise. This dedication shapes The Macallan to this day.

The original labelled bottle portraying this special story has been laid in The Macallan Archives, and digital replicas of this label are available as a limited edition. Containing the same rich 1967 spirit, there are only 322 bottles in the same European oak box, accompanied by a green leather book sharing 13 label artworks from Anecdotes of Ages Collection.

THE STORY BEHIND THE LABEL

Methodically, Harbinson (who was not related to Janet) restored the business with a steady optimism, a stoic get-up-and-go that fuelled the growth of the 1950s and 60s. From his tiny office, in the 1970s, he decreed that The Macallan remain faithful to sherry seasoned oak casks. Quality and continuity were his abiding focus.

On this label Sir Peter Blake chronicles that time, championing workers who devoted their – in many cases – lifelong efforts to whisky making. The Distillery served as the heart of both their working lives and also as a social and family hub. The earlier support for war widows and hardworking Land Girls was an extension of this social philanthropy.

It is from this era that the outturn bottled for this collaboration was selected by Lead Whisky Maker Sarah Burgess. Distilled in 1967, its richly promising colour is paid off with deep and intoxicating scents of warm chocolate, pineapple and ginger, flavour notes that round out an outstanding spirit matured, after fifty years in sherry seasoned European oak casks.

This is a resonantly special spirit. Mary McCartney’s photograph places the bottle displaying Sir Peter’s label art in a setting that reminds us of the everyday work and persistent dedication that goes into creating our single malts, and the important characters who laid the groundwork for this special 1967 whisky.