There has perhaps been no decade more seismic in the modern history of whisky than the 1980s. Sadly, it is probably best remembered for the so-called ‘whisky loch’, an oversupply issue in the blending industry that saw a huge swathe of distillery closures. Victims of the loch-era shutterings include the likes Brora, Port Ellen and Dallas Dhu. However, it was also an era of positive change defined by several important developments for the single malt category, not least those at Macallan Distillery in Speyside.
Instantly recognisable today, the Macallan brand in its current form has been around since the 1950s, originally available mostly in the UK and Italy and bottled under license by two Elgin-based companies called Gordon & MacPhail and Campbell, Hope & King. This changed in 1980, however, when the distillery took charge of the bottling and marketing of its brand for the first time. Key to this move was its chief executive, Allan Shiach, who was keen to cement Macallan within the ultra-premium position that it holds today.
Shiach immediately began supplementing the core range with special limited editions, starting with the lauded ‘red ribbon’ vintages from which the 1950 is available in our August 2024 auction. Released between 1980 and 1982, these could be considered a trial run that confirmed the market appetite for the famous Anniversary Malt bottlings introduced in 1983. Produced until the early 2000s, these were 25-year-old single malts that have become some of the most sought-after whiskies ever made. Our auction this month features a great selection of these from both its earliest and latest iterations, and we are especially thrilled to also offer the rarest bottle of them all, The Macallan Anniversary Malt 50 Years Old.
Released in 1983 as part of the launch of the Anniversary Malt range, the 50-year-old is a remarkable whisky that had been aged in the distillery warehouses since 1928, serving as an emblem of the long-running faith it placed in the quality of its product, as well as a defining statement intent in its new era of optimism for the single malt category. One of just 500 bottles, there are very few of these around today and even fewer come to auction.
Crucially, Shiach also recognised that the key to success was to continue what had made Macallan great in the first place: its vintage bottlings. Campbell, Hope & King had tended to release these as ‘over 15-year-olds’ in the 1970s, however the distillery standardised them as an 18-year-old age statement beginning in 1984. While the vintage has been dropped from the label since 2016, the expression is still the backbone of the Macallan range. Just like its 25-year-old counterparts, these whiskies are some of the most sought-after and we are delighted to offer vintages dating from 1954 through to 1997 in our auction this month.
Currently celebrating its 200th anniversary year, there is no better time to delve into the history of this Speyside giant, and with nearly 100 of those years of production featured within it, our August 2024 auction provides an ideal place to do just that.
