Elite Traveler Summer 2024

Clockwise The Macallan Distillery; The Macallan Horizon is a limited-edition release

elite traveler SUMMER 2024 117

An aluminum ribbon encircles the glass decanter, precision-engineered in the same way Bentley manufactures its cars. Sitting inside the sculpture and protected by the supple leather, a recycled copper frame twists around the vessel, with some of the copper taken from old stills used by The Macallan. An inlay of oak wood has been taken from one of the casks used in the maturation of the whisky, while the decanter is fi nished with Bentley’s crown-cut walnut veneer. The sixth and fi nal component is, of course, the whisky itself. Concocted from the mind of The Macallan master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell, the whisky evokes the Bentley brand through its complex, bold taste. Six fi rst- fi ll sherry-seasoned oak casks were taken from The Macallan’s wealth of options, each adding its own qualities to form a unique single malt. The Macallan’s favored rich dried fruit and spice fl avor blends exquisitely with the oaky leather notes that are at home in Bentley’s world. A long-lasting fi nish perfectly re fl ects the staying power of both of these iconic brands. The ABV sits at 46.6%, a further nod to The Macallan’s six pillars. This is a limited-edition release that’s worthy of these two brands, while being priced to match at $50,000 per 700ml bottle. It’s a further page in the history books of both Bentley and The Macallan, perhaps more poignantly for the whisky brand in its bicentennial year. From unlicensed farmers making whisky in the winter to the most expensive whisky ever sold at auction at $2.7m, over the last 200 years, The Macallan and the Speyside region have risen to the heights of whisky stardom. It’s interesting to consider what will be achieved in the next 200 years. by Toby Louch themacallan.com

Inside The Macallan Distillery