THE PERFECT SHADE
The Macallan’s new Edition No. 5 is the first single malt whisky to get its own colour—and it isn’t necessarily the one you’d expect
The Macallan’s single malt whiskies are famed for their natural colour. The brand is one of the very few whisky makers that relies entirely on casks to impart a tint to the spirit, avoiding the caramel-based dye common in the industry. Indeed, in every bottle of The Macallan, the complex process of creating the whisky, including the fine oak casks in which it is matured and from which it draws its flavour, is indelibly etched in the colour of the spirit.
So when the brand was looking to celebrate the release of its Edition No. 5, it turned to that natural hue as a source of inspiration—and decided to commission a colour all its own. And when it came to working out what shade best represented the brand, The Macallan went to the undisputed world leader in colour creation, the Us-based Pantone Color Institute™, which produces the Pantone Matching System, an indispensable tool for people in industries ranging from graphic design to fashion and textiles.
“When they first reached out to us, my first reaction was, ‘Wow, they must be very innovative,’” says the institute’s vice-president, Laurie Pressman, whose job involves everything from advising brands to predicting trends.
“It was the first spirits brand we’ve worked with. I was really impressed when they suggested that I go to their distillery a few weeks later. They were really insistent about it. What I took away from the distillery was a complete change in my thought process about how to approach this. I was impressed by how knowledgeable everyone there was, how much pride everyone took and how they all wanted to do the right thing. They were open, trusting, strategic and creative—i loved it.”
After consulting extensively with The Macallan’s experts, including whisky maker Sarah Burgess, Pressman and her colleagues eventually came up with a bold, red-leaning shade of purple, which she describes as the rainbow’s most complex colour, to represent the brand’s enigmatic, innovative yet traditional character. The process, she says, also helped her to understand the analogies between the processes of making whisky and formulating colours.
“The Macallan wanted us to help them pick the shade. To me, it was extremely intriguing. They wanted to tell the Edition No. 5 story, which is all about the natural colour based on the wooden casks. They really understand the power of colour; they want to connect colour, flavour and aroma, and they wanted it to be emotionally inspiring. I thought that was really interesting. They also wanted it to be disruptive; they want people to be surprised.
“As I sat there and listened to people talk about making whisky and the complexity of putting it together, I realised there’s so much in common with making a colour. Then I had my light-bulb moment. The brand has the courage to push boundaries. It’s about craftsmanship and heritage but at the same time it’s modern and relevant. Purple is one of the colours that’s hard to pin down: it changes based on the context it’s in; it stands for heritage but also for something creative and nonconforming. And a red-based purple is more exciting, passionate, innovative; we felt that it had a younger appeal.”
Pressman’s summary of the shade seems apt for the whisky itself. The Edition No. 5 comes with a sunlit barley hue from its maturation in American oak casks. Its flavour profile is equally intriguing, featuring notes of caramel, poached peach, ripe pear and spices such as nutmeg and ginger, perfectly matching the innovative new colour that represents it.