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Macallan distillery in Speyside has been known to compete for 'the oldest whisky ever bottled' title. The competition has mostly been between Dalmore distillery and independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, which recently announced it will stop purchasing casks from other companies anymore.
Macallan has held the title for the past two years after releasing a 1940 81-year-old The Reach in February 2022, surpassing G&M's Glenlivet 1940 Generations 80-year-old only a year before. Now, it seems, Macallan is the only one standing and competing with itself.
Announced on 3 September 2024, Macallan unveiled two whisky releases: Time:Space and Time:Space Mastery. The first release, with an 84-year maturation, takes home the coveted title. Both releases were created in celebration of Macallan's bicentenary this year, and more releases under the collection may follow in the future.
Macallan Time:Space 'Whisky Mastery & New Horizons' Vessel
All Original Images by The Macallan
The more extravagant of the two releases, Time:Space, features the oldest whisky ever bottled: Time:Space 'Whisky Mastery', a 1940 Macallan 84-year-old, and 'New Horizons', a 2018 vintage five-year-old. The two single malts in a dual vessel represent Macallan's past and future, with the young whisky being one of the first distillates run through the stills at the new Macallan distillery. Both whiskies are said to be 100% natural colour, which is reflected in the presentation.
The 1940 Macallan has been aged in two casks: a first-fill American oak butt and a second-fill European oak butt, both seasoned with Sherry from Jerez de la Frontera. The whisky is influenced by the historical context of the era when Macallan was distilled using peated malted barley and is offered at 43.4% ABV in a 700ml decanter.
The five-year-old 2018 vintage was bottled in 2024 and is the first whisky released that was distilled in the new Macallan distillery, which opened in 2018. It was matured in sherry-seasoned American oak hogsheads and bottled at 53.9% ABV in a 350ml bottle.
The whiskies are presented in interlocking vessels inspired by a time machine, with the 1940 distilled whisky cased in a circular outer decanter and the 2018 whisky clicking in the middle. The dual expression is said to 'capture the essence of time travel'. We have no doubt that future whisky enthusiasts will come up with their own name for the release since the design could be better described as a 'steering wheel' or a 'cyber eye', depending on how the bottle is presented in images.
The vessel housing the liquid is displayed in an oak sculpture featuring 200 spikes representing the distillery's bicentennial and 'nature’s protection'.
Macallan Time:Space is limited to only 200 decanters, each retailing for US$190,000 (£145,000) at the time of the release. Do note that officially, The Macallan’s Time: Space is available to purchase only by invitation from The Macallan, with the price available upon application. This would indicate that the distiller is expected to increase the price of the bottle over time.
Macallan Time:Space Mastery
The second edition, Time:Space Mastery, is a non-age-statement 'bagel'- shaped release representing 'the circle of life' that lives in a spiky red world. The whisky comes in a red box with 200 origami spikes, yet again paying tribute to the distillery's 200th anniversary. The spikes are said to represent 'how nature guards what is most precious and fragile'.
The whisky has been aged in 14 different types of casks, including European oak sherry-seasoned casks, American oak sherry-seasoned casks, American oak Bourbon barrels, and 'the distillery’s finest refill casks'. Offered at 43.6% ABV, the expression will be available to purchase from The Macallan, subject to availability and location, and via The Macallan Society Ballot in the UK and Europe. With a much more accessible price, the Mastery has a suggested retail price of US$1,400 (£1,065).
The Time: Space Collection is launching a global marketing campaign featuring two films that take viewers through a unique world where 'time flows and nature protects what is most valuable'. The campaign will be revealed on 8 October through 3D outdoor billboards in the US and London, supported by an integrated digital and print campaign in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
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