Macallan 1946 52 Years Old Select Reserve Single Malt

$45,000 AUD

40% 70 cl

This is an exceptional Speyside single malt distilled at The Macallan in 1946 and bottled in 1998 after 52 years in sherry casks. It comes in a splendid hand-made lockable presentation wooden box and with a certificate of guarantee signed by the distillery manager. This is bottle no 246.

Heralding from the immediate post-war era, the whisky was reportedly made with peated malt due to the high price of coal at the time, making it all the more unusual. It also happens to be one of the greatest Macallans ever released according to the opinion of some well-placed experts. As such, it is recognised as a classic Macallan and its reputation is assured.

This product is located in Australia.

Distillery

Macallan Distillery

This is the ne plus ultra in Speyside malt whiskies and has set a standard to which many aspire but few succeed.

Sadly, when Alfred Barnard visited the distillery in 1886 he was so unimpressed by it that he dismissed it in seven lines of what was a very heavy tome. Or perhaps he was simply shown the door in the mistaken belief that he was just another carpetbagger from the South! 

This was in sharp contrast to the warmth of the welcome I received when I retraced Barnard’s footsteps 100 years later to be the guest of two of Scotland’s whisky legends – Willie Phillips as managing director and Sandy Curle, the distiller-in- chief at Macallan since 1972. 

Despite Barnard’s neglect, Macallan has a rich history and much of it is recorded in some detail. It is also reflected in how the company has projected itself, not least by representing some of their excellent products against a suitable historic backdrop. Legitimate from 1824 onwards but almost certainly with a darker earlier history, Macallan is a wonderful fusion of tradition and modernity. The latter is reflected in the decision to build a completely new distillery, which went into production in 2017.  We all wait with baited breath to see if it will be a match for its forerunner and it will be a long wait given Macallan’s policy on maturation. However, there is plenty of maturing stock to ensure that interest in, and devotion to the Macallan make does not waiver in the meantime.