Message in a Bottle

The Macallan makes a powerful brand statement with a new look for its highly revered single malt whiskies

The Macallan has long been the choice of single malt whisky aficionados. From now on, the range of whiskies produced by the much-loved distillery, located in the famous whisky-producing Speyside region of northeastern Scotland, will come inside a redesigned bottle that befits both the label’s heritage and the precious liquid it has produced for nearly 200 years.

The new bottle cuts an imposing figure, featuring a bold, tapering profile highlighted by its broad shoulders, with a chevron cut towards the neck. To ensure buyers get precisely what they’ve purchased, the new bottles are also fitted with anti-refill and anti-counterfeit measures.

“With this bold new design, we want to do justice to the extraordinary whisky inside the bottle which, of course, is what we at The Macallan and every whisky fan worldwide really cares about,” says The Macallan marketing director Glen Gribbon. “We think the new bottle looks as good in a world-class bar as it does on a table at home being shared with friends.”

Coincident with the bottle redesign, The Macallan has renamed some of its whiskies— based on customer feedback—to make its range easier to understand. Accordingly, the Fine Oak range, launched in 2004, will now be known as Triple Cask Matured. The new name reflects the three types of casks—bourbon, American oak sherry and European oak sherry—used to mature the single malt whiskies in the range.

“We want to make it easy for our fans to select a whisky that’s right for them,” says Gribbon. “What could be simpler than one, two or three cask types? By consolidating our core range to Sherry Oak, Double Cask and Triple Cask Matured we’re able to highlight the variety of whisky coming out of our distillery, and also encourage new and existing fans to try The Macallan across a variety of occasions.”

The Macallan is also planning to discontinue its 1824 series, removing the Amber and Sienna expressions from production, but will retain The Macallan 1824 Gold under the Double Cask range, renamed Double Cask Gold.