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Macallan Distillery

Macallan
Written by Roma Publications

A First for Speyside as Edrington Unveils New Macallan Distillery

Edrington, the international premium spirits company, has revealed the new distillery and visitor experience for The Macallan.

The new distillery and visitor experience is located on the stunning Easter Elchies estate, which has been home to the leading luxury single malt since 1824. From humble beginnings, the brand has risen to become the leading international single malt by value and enjoys leading positions in some of the world’s most significant Scotch whisky markets including the USA, Taiwan and Japan.

It is the first distillery on Speyside to be designed by internationally acclaimed architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, who were selected to lead the project after an international competition.

Edrington has invested £500 million in the brand of which the £140 million distillery is the centrepiece. This programme increases investment in whisky, warehousing and particularly The Macallan’s signature sherry-styled seasoned oak casks.

The project was announced in 2012 and the build began in December 2014. The first whisky ran through the stills in December 2017 and the visitor experience opened its doors on 2nd June 2018. It is expected that visitor numbers will double in the first year and continue to rise thereafter.

The new distillery will enable production of The Macallan to increase by a third if required. The new stills were crafted by Scottish coppersmith Forsyths, who have been making the brand’s distinctive ‘curiously small’ stills for The Macallan since the 1950s.

Elgin-based Robertson Construction has delivered the complex architectural design, working with 25 contactors to bring the vision for the new distillery and visitor experience to life. During the construction, up to 400 people specialising in more than 20 different trades were employed on site.

The striking piece of contemporary architecture is cut to the slope of the land, taking its cues from ancient Scottish hills and maximising the aesthetic beauty of the building, whilst minimising the visual impact of the Speyside landscape, which has been classified as an ‘Area of Great Landscape Value.’

The undulating timber roof structure is one of the most complicated timber roof structures in the world, compromising 380,000 individual components.

Ian Curle, Chief Executive at Edrington, said: “This is an exciting occasion for Edrington and The Macallan. The unsurpassed quality of The Macallan is in high demand and we face the future confidently with this new distillery. It’s an authentic, abiding, ambitious investment that will match consumer expectations for generations to come.”

Ken Grier, Creative Director at the Macallan said: “As The Macallan has grown globally, it has been very important that we make sure sustain demand for this wonderful amber liquid. We’ve taken exceptional care in making sure that the spirit produced in the new distillery is identical to the spirit that we produced in our previous distillery. This is the beginning of a really exciting new chapter in the evolution of this wonderful brand that is The Macallan.”

Graham Stirk, Senior Partner and Lead Architect at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners commented: “The Macallan estate truly is a special place; a place we have come to love and respect hugely. The vision was always ambitious but this enabled us to challenge our own thinking to create something so dramatic and awe-inspiring. It has been an honour to play our part in shaping the next chapter for The Macallan.”

For further information, visit www.themacallan.com

Macallan

General views of The Macallan Distillery, which after a multi-million pound development will start creating the world famous whisky as well as functioning as a visitor centre beside Easter Elchies House in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday May 22, 2018. Photo credit should read: Simon Price/PA Wire

 

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