Latest news with #Macallan
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Designing Luxury Whisky: Inside Macallan's Five-Year Creative Process
How long do you think it takes to redesign the world's most iconic whisky range? For Macallan, the answer was seven years. Mark Littler LTD How long does it take to create the world's most luxurious spirit? Macallan's heritage dates back over two hundred years. It is the world's most collected whisky by both value, and is part of Scotland's most valuable exports, which means there is a lot resting on each bottle of Macallan whisky that leaves the bottling plant. Personally, I love the new core range redesign. But rebranding your core range and releasing ultra-premium bottles like the £1,100 Time:Space Mastery and the £800 Art is the Flower limited edition would be a bold move even in the best of times. Right now, it feels particularly risky. Many whisky drinkers are facing tighter budgets, secondary market prices have softened, and even Macallan's parent company, Edrington, reported a 10% slump in core revenue to £912 million in the year to March 2025. Released in late 2024 with a £1,100 price tag, Macallan's Time:Space Mastery pushed the boundaries of whisky as luxury art, timed just as the market began to cool. Macallan Yet despite the headwinds, Macallan continues to invest in bold, long-term creative work. I sat down with Jaume Ferràs, Macallan's Global Creative Director, to find out more about the first luxury whisky, Macallan's creative process, and why the best designers might not be designers at all. I have been part of the whiskey industry for over 10 years now. I've lost count of the number of times I have said to a customer who has been waiting over six months for a cask to be moved from Islay, 'nothing moves quickly in whisky.' I've said it, I understand it, and yet we become blind to it too. Macallan x Nike? Creative Director Jaume Ferràs is a true sneakerhead and told me in our interview, 'If you know someone at Nike who wants to work with Macallan let me know!' Macallan All luxury markets are slow and involved. When you add maturation periods of the whiskey itself on top of the layers of influence and teams of designers, cask masters, marketers—everything takes a long time. Macallan's early stories in the 1980s may have centered around small teams finding fifty and sixty year old casks of whisky tucked away at the back of a warehouse and deciding to release them. But for Ferràs and his team the stories are different ones. 'We work at least five years ahead,' Ferràs said to me over a zoom call earlier this month. 'Product development, cask management, and creative direction all operate on a long-term roadmap.' The redesign of the core range dates back longer than that even. Triggered by the new distillery and the way Ferràs explains it, it is almost like the distillery and the branding weren't speaking the same language, and the redesign aims to address that. Design legend David Carson brought his signature style to Macallan's new core range, crafting bold visuals and ad campaigns rooted in the brand's heritage. Macallan 'The conversation about our identity really started around seven years ago, triggered by the opening of the new distillery in 2018. We realized that while the distillery had become a permanent, highly visible part of the landscape, the brand identity wasn't reflecting that. At the same time, we weren't fully communicating our commitment to Sherry cask maturation, or the fact that we were approaching 200 years of history. Those three factors combined made us step back and reassess the identity of the brand.' Creating Worlds Of Whisky The result of seven years of work is a striking core range. It also speaks the same design language as the travel retail set and of the flowing loops of the distillery itself. It also strongly features the rich red that has been part of Macallan's heritage language since those early days. I wondered if working for a brand as large as Macallan, defined as it is by its history and years of planning, could be frustrating. But Ferràs said no, that there is 'surprising freedom' at Macallan. 'The Macallan is very good at creating worlds. Each collection—Time & Space, Harmony, Home—has its own internal story and ecosystem,' said Ferràs. 'We don't want a new whisky that's just slightly different—we want it to be part of a whole new world.' That does give freedom. With each release designed to be more than just a whisky; it is a story. And one that has been crafted to be told long after the bottle itself is empty. 'The bottle sits on the table long after the whisky is poured—it's the design that continues the conversation.' This then is a train of thought that speaks to my sensibilities too. There are few people in the world who would sit and dissect a painting by discussing the shades of pigment within each brush stroke, instead we sit and we see the stories told by paintings, and in turn the stories of ourselves that they echo. This grounds the experience in memory, making it something we turn back to. So too, we don't remember the precise flavours within each sip of whisky. But we do remember the place we drank it, who we were with , the reason it was opened, the weight of a bottle as we poured, or the drip of 'wasted' spirit we laughed with a friend over. These are the parts of the story that are stored in our mind alongside our love of a drink. The Genius of Outsiders Storytelling through collaboration is another big thing in whisky at the moment. It is everywhere you look, and at times it can feel like a gimmick. But Ferras explains that it is anything but. 'We want to work with designers who are not designers. Actual bottle designers bring the physics with them—gravity, bottling lines, pouring mechanisms. But sometimes that limits creativity before it starts. That's where naive creativity comes in… and that naivety can become a breakthrough. 'Bentley helped us design Horizon—a horizontal bottle. A traditional designer would never have proposed that.' Jaume Ferràs, Macallan's Global Creative Director This I understand completely. However, I also feel it is where the disconnect comes in. From a design perspective it makes sense; good design is supposed to push boundaries. From a luxury product side, it is no different than having a $20,000 designer handbag too small to hold your keys or phone, or a $45,000 mechanical watch that loses 2 seconds a day if you don't remember to wind it properly. Whisky is not quite either of these things. Not yet. For now it is still a drink, a luxurious drink, but without the complete trappings of haute couture luxury that mean you can charge anything and do anything. Luxury whisky is still a young product. Drinkers and fans of Macallan still remember when it was on an optic, and those consumers are still clinging to that old image. The timing of the updates has not helped. Of course, Macallan could not help when they turned 200, anymore than they could help the global changes that have seen secondary market demand plummet. But perhaps this is a good thing, perhaps it will bring the space to embrace the new designs and the ethos that it encapsulates. A Dream Collab A pair of 1985 Air Jordan 1 Chicagos, Ferràs's dream sneaker, were recently estimated at $18,000–$24,000 at Sotheby's. Sotheby's Finally I couldn't help but ask who Ferras himself as a designer would love to work with 'I love sneaker design. My dream would be a collaboration with Nike—Air Jordan 1985 Chicagos are my all-time favourite.' 'If you know someone at Nike who wants to work with Macallan, let me know!' Now that would be a collaboration I'd love to see!
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Profits at the Macallan's Parent Company Dropped 26% This Year
The Macallan is one of the most popular and recognizable scotch whisky brands in the world, but even this esteemed single malt distillery might be facing some tough times ahead. According to a recent article that ran at the website Scottish Financial News, the Macallan's parent company, Edrington, reported that its profits were down by 26 percent and core revenue down by 10 percent as of March of this year, part of a continuing trend of worrying news for the global spirits industry. In financial terms, that is the equivalent of £274.4 million in pre-tax profits and £912 million in revenue, which the company is blaming on 'reduced consumer demand' over the past financial year. 'After several years of unprecedented growth for premium spirits and industry-leading results posted by Edrington, the business felt the full effect of the global economic downturn during the year,' said CEO Scott McCroskie, according to Scottish Financial News. 'Looking ahead, the political and economic backdrop remains volatile, which we expect will continue to weigh on consumer sentiment in the coming year. We believe top-line growth will be difficult to come by in this environment, although adjustments to overheads and brand investment are expected to align net sales and core contribution more closely next year.' More from Robb Report Porsche Club of America Members Get First Dibs on This New, Ultra-Limited 911 VisionF's New Speedboat Can Hit a Staggering 92 MPH at Full Tilt This New $55 Million Greenwich Mansion Has Both Indoor and Outdoor Pools Given this challenging environment, last week Edrington announced that it had finalized the sale of two of its popular scotch brands, yhe Famous Grouse and Naked Malt, to fellow Scottish company William Grant & Sons (owner of Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, and Hendrick's Gin). The terms of the sale were not disclosed, but new the new owner expressed a great deal of enthusiasm about the acquisition, saying that it sees a lot of potential in the lesser known Naked Malt brand. There were some bright spots for Edrington despite this news, however. Sales of the Macallan showed strength as the company said that its 200th anniversary year was the second-highest ever for sales, with Asia posting positive numbers in particular (specifically South Korea, Japan, and China, where the distillery's 12-, 15-, and 18-year-old expressions remain popular), and Brugal Rum showed strength in the Dominican Republic where it is produced. Going forward, Edrington says it will continue its strategy of focusing on ultra-premium spirits and will 'continue to… strengthen our brands and our business for the long-term benefit of our investors, our employees, and those who benefit from our own and our principal shareholder's charitable activities.' It remains to be seen if that will be enough to boost sales over the coming year, but we will continue to report on this news over the coming year. Best of Robb Report Why a Heritage Turkey Is the Best Thanksgiving Bird—and How to Get One 9 Stellar West Coast Pinot Noirs to Drink Right Now The 10 Best Wines to Pair With Steak, From Cabernet to Malbec Click here to read the full article. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Herald Scotland
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
The Macallan Scotch whisky owner flags 'hostile' environment
And Edrington highlighted the fact its 'core contribution' measure of profits in the year to March 31 was, in spite of a 28% fall during the period, still 38% ahead of pre-pandemic levels. Edrington, which this week completed the sale of The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt brands to William Grant & Sons, reported a 26% fall in pre-tax profits before exceptional items to £274.4m for the year to March 31. Core revenue fell by 10% to £912m, with the group flagging a 'challenging economic environment' and reduced consumer demand in international markets. Edrington said: 'After a period of industry-leading growth, during which the business has grown significantly, this has been a period in which Edrington experienced the full-year impact of reduced consumer demand.' Read more The Scotch Whisky Association reported in February that the overall value of Scotch exports fell by 3.7% to £5.4 billion in 2024. And it observed then that global trading conditions remained 'turbulent' at the beginning of 2025. Edrington said today: 'The decline in sales was broadly consistent across international markets, with exceptions including a resilient performance by Brugal rum in the Dominican Republic and The Macallan in South Korea and Japan. The Macallan 12, 15 and 18-year-old expressions continued to grow in China and the company saw high consumer demand for products launched to celebrate The Macallan's 200th anniversary.' Edrington flagged increased production and employment costs in the context of the 28% fall in core contribution to £291.4m in the year to March 31. Core contribution is defined by Edrington as profits from its branded sales and distribution after the deduction of overheads on a constant-currency basis. Edrington, which also owns The Glenrothes single malt, observed: 'Core contribution was 38% ahead of pre-pandemic levels.' Scott McCroskie, chief executive of Edrington, said: 'After several years of unprecedented growth for premium spirits and industry-leading results posted by Edrington, the business felt the full effect of the global economic downturn during the year. 'Our focus on ultra-premium spirits has driven Edrington's growth in recent years and we have continued to execute our strategy despite the hostile trading environment. This includes further strategic investments in our sherry cask supply chain and in reducing our carbon footprint.' Edrington's principal shareholder is The Robertson Trust, which has donated £396m to charitable causes in Scotland since 1961. Noting Edrington's completion of its sale of The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt brands to William Grant & Sons on July 1, Mr McCroskie declared: 'This reflects our choice to focus on the premium end of the market, where we are best placed to compete.' He added: 'Looking ahead, the political and economic backdrop remains volatile, which we expect will continue to weigh on consumer sentiment in the coming year. We believe top-line growth will be difficult to come by in this environment, although adjustments to overheads and brand investment are expected to align net sales and core contribution more closely next year. 'Edrington's strategic focus on ultra-premium spirits remains effective. We will continue to execute it to strengthen our brands and our business for the long-term benefit of our investors, our employees, and those who benefit from our own and our principal shareholder's charitable activities.' Edrington employs more than 3,000 people in its wholly owned and joint venture companies, with over half employed outside the UK. It distributes its brands to more than 100 countries.
Business Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Sweet endings at Coda
[SINGAPORE] The centrepiece of many watering holes is a gleaming display of liquor bottles behind the bar, in a parade of familiar brand names. Yet what is striking at Coda isn't this visual cue, but its glaring absence. There are no bottles behind the bar, nor brand names on the menu. These omissions were the deliberate choice of owner Michel Lu. The aim is to encourage customers to judge each drink 'on its own merit', rather than rely on recognisable names to form conclusions, he said. 'I wanted this to be a clean and pure space,' said Lu, who also founded pan-Asian craft spirits brand The Orientalist Spirits. 'It's not about whether this is a Macallan cocktail, or an Orientalist Spirits cocktail. What matters are the flavours, and how you enjoy the drink.' A space within a space Getting to Coda is so tricky that guests who make reservations receive a text message with directions. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up First, take an escalator to the second floor of the InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay. Next, push past curtains on the right to enter a dim, box-like room lined with mirrors. Finally, locate a blinking blue sensor beside a candle – a wave of the hand will trigger a door to open into Coda's main 16-seater room. The experience is meant to be disorienting, said Lu. 'When you first arrive, you're like, 'What do I do?' We wanted a portal that would insulate the actual space, so that we'd never be disrupted by light or sound.' At Coda, there are no bottles behind the bar. By removing visible alcohol brands, owner Michel Lu aims to encourage customers to judge each drink 'on its own merit'. PHOTO: CODA Coda's interior is minimalist, with small tables along a long leather couch and a few armchairs. An adjoining 10-seater room is usually closed to the public, but can be booked for private events. Soft furnishings – a carpeted floor, false suede ceiling and thick curtains – create a cosy cocoon while absorbing sound. Warm cove lighting and a gentle woody fragrance complete the vibe. In the spotlight – literally – is a custom-built bar counter near the centre of the room. As the only spot with direct lighting, the bar was designed to resemble a stage, with the bartender as its star, said Lu. The open concept also invites guests to even go behind the counter to speak with the bartender. A coda is the concluding segment of a piece of music or literary work. General manager Treyna Zhang hopes the bar can similarly be a place where customers round off their day. 'We look forward to being that sweet spot, that little happy ending for you at the end.' Spotlighting Asian spirits and flavours Coda's cocktail menu features 16 signature tipples in four sections, each themed after a different mood. For instance: tranquillity for Blue Hour, eternal happiness for Elysian Fields, chaos for Fragmented Consciousness, and bliss for Chasing Fireflies. Blue Hour – an actual term that refers to the period just before sunrise or after sunset – thus features subtler flavours, while Fragmented Consciousness offers experimental options that incorporate unlikely ingredients from kimchi to artichoke. At Coda, Asian spirits and flavours are the focus – beginning with a complimentary welcome drink of local black tea infused with bergamot liqueur, inspired by a classic negroni. 'Whether you're from South Asia, China, South Korea, Japan or Taiwan, tea unites Asia. The West drinks tea, but it's from Asia,' said Lu, noting that several cocktails on the menu contain tea notes. These include the bar's bestseller, the Coda Martini, in which vodka is mixed with rooibos tea and tieguanyin, then finished off with a dash of Calvados. The bar's bestseller is the Coda Martini, in which vodka is mixed with rooibos tea and tieguanyin, then finished off with a dash of Calvados. PHOTO: CODA While it is a spin on the classic vodka martini, other drinks stray further from their source. A re-imagining of the Singapore Sling, the cocktail Fling retains only the original recipe's gin base and pineapple juice. 'The Singapore Sling is a very dated, sexist drink from colonial times; it's not a great drink, but it represents Singapore,' said Lu. 'I felt it was time to create something more befitting of Singapore today.' Fling is a variation of the Singapore Fling, which Lu launched in 2024 at Marina Bay Sands' Spago Bar & Lounge. 'Back then, I had actually created the Singapore Fling as a contemporary take on the Singapore Sling,' he explained. 'But we wanted to do a more elegant and cleaner version for Coda, which resulted in Fling.' The Singapore Fling and Fling share a recipe: a gin base infused with chrysanthemum, snow pear and red dates, then combined with Lillet rose, hibiscus sour plum tea, pineapple juice, calamansi juice and ginger flower water. The difference is in the execution: the Singapore Fling is shaken, while Fling is clarified. Those looking to turn up the heat can order Smoke, Coda's only hot cocktail. Described by Lu as an 'Asian-style' hot toddy, Smoke is a blend of three whiskeys; honey lemon fermented for two-and-a-half years; and the Japanese roasted tea iribancha, for an extra touch of smokiness. Besides cocktails, Coda offers limited categories of beer, sake, champagne and wine. A Japanese food menu will be launched in July, and will offer a la carte dishes such as udon, bara chirashi and sashimi. Fling
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
6 whisky distilleries to visit in Scotland this summer
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Pagoda chimneys rising above pine-forested glens, the babble of a highland spring, the distinctive aroma of toasted malt — distilleries are far more than functional factories. Often set in spectacular settings, they're crucibles of living, breathing Scottish heritage. And many invite visitors inside to view bubbling mash tuns, gleaming copper stills and warehouses filled with oak barrels, revealing the almost alchemical process that turns a few simple, local ingredients — barley, yeast, spring water — into fiery, golden spirits. Monasteries were Scotland's first de facto distilleries, putting rain-soaked grain to good use, with the earliest recorded mention of this 'water of life' (uisge beatha in Gaelic) dating from 1494. Today, there are over 150 active distilleries nationwide, falling into five officially recognised regions. Covering much of the mainland and islands, Highland is the largest and most diverse, while Speyside carves out a slice of the north east, and Lowlands lies just north of the English border. The peat-heavy Hebridean island of Islay gets its own designation, as does Campbeltown, a wee, southwesterly peninsula. Visitor experiences run the gamut from rustic, hard-hat tours to bespoke 'bottle your own single-malt cask' offerings — and some of these are seriously high-end. The Glenrothes private estate's multi-day experience, for example, costs a whopping £250,000. Most tastings will offer 'drivers' drams' — miniature pours to take home — meaning whoever's behind the wheel doesn't miss out. And with more distilleries adding restaurants, bars or overnight stays, even Scotch sceptics can find something to savour. Small in size, but big on character, Deanston's unpretentious, experimental attitude has resulted in waxy, honeyed, full-bodied drams with a cult following — including a 15-year-old single malt finished in tequila casks. Deanston even looks different to most distilleries — the red-brick, riverside buildings were in fact an 18th-century cotton mill, before they were converted to whisky-making in 1966. The place still hums with hydropower: one of the greenest scotch brands around, the whisky here is made from organic grain sourced from local farmers. Book the Warehouse No 4 experience, in Deanston's former cooperage, for direct-from-cask tastings and an atmospheric whisky-ageing education. Or compare some of its Master Blender's favourite, hard-to-find past releases on the Old & Rare Tasting. How to do it: £25 per person (Distillery Tour); £40 per person (Warehouse No 4 Experience); £130 per person (Old & Rare Tasting). There's a hint of Bond villain's lair about this Speyside distillery's sleek, subterranean architecture, which has been the brand's home since 2018, rippling beneath a wildflower-covered roof (fittingly, the 007 movies feature a few Macallan cameos). Within cathedral-height interiors, an interactive archive showcases 200 years of whisky-making heritage and limited-edition bottles, which resemble artworks. The central bar serves drams dating back 80 years, classic cocktails and tutored tastings — The Story of Oak, for instance, compares how sherry-seasoned casks impart Macallan's signature notes of dried fruits, ginger and cinnamon. Its culinary credentials are also next level: the team have collaborated with Spain's three-Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca at its fine-dining restaurant TimeSpirit, and The Macallan Mastery Experience tour concludes with a six-course tasting menu here. All this makes The Macallan the cream of Speyside visitor experiences — no mean feat given this region has the highest concentration of distilleries. How to do it: £50 per person (The Story of Oak); £250 per person (The Macallan Mastery Experience). Islay punches above its weight with powerful, peat-rich styles and nine active distilleries. Alongside established names like Lagavulin and Laphroaig, the buzz is all about Port Ellen: this Kilnaughton Bay landmark reopened in 2024 after a 40-year closure and £185m makeover. It's a dazzling, steel-and-glass temple to carbon-neutral whisky innovation, where handbuilt replicas of original copper stills stand beside the world's first 10-part spirit safe and a Scandi-chic, ocean-view tasting lounge. While new expressions are maturing, aficionados can nose the distilleries new-make spirit and draw from a 1979 vintage cask on the Port Ellen Reborn tour, uncovering the mineral, smoky soul of this phoenix-like brand. How to do it: Book well in advance for free, monthly open days (reservations essential); £250 per person (Port Ellen Reborn). Overlooking a sea loch on the myth-steeped Isle of Skye, Talisker's peaty whiskies are as rugged and elemental as its setting. Take the classic 10-Year-Old: a bracing ocean breeze on the nose, followed by black pepper and bonfire smoke. No wonder Talisker was one of Robert Louis Stevenson's reasons for calling whisky 'the king o' drinks'. Thanks to big investment from international drinks powerhouse Diageo, Talisker's raft of visitor experiences goes well beyond classic tours, including chocolate and whisky-pairing tastings, an offshoot of Michelin-recommended restaurant The Three Chimneys and a state-of-the-art visitor centre for multi-sensory storytelling about Talisker's wave-lashed heritage. Linger in the Campfire Bar for a dram or whisky-based cocktail — the venue sometimes hosts live folk music sets, too. How to do it: £20 per person (Talisker Made By The Sea Tasting Experience); £35 per person (Whisky & Chocolate Tasting). In its Victorian heyday, Campbeltown was hailed as the world's whisky capital and was home to 32 distilleries within one tiny patch of Argyll's Atlantic-lashed Kintyre Peninsula. That figure's now fallen to just three, making family-owned Springbank both survivor and standard-bearer — notably, it's one of Scotland's only distilleries to complete 100% of the whisky-making process on site, from floor malting to bottling. The briny, oily character of Springbank's signature single malt — layered with smoky, grassy notes — reflects its coastal location, and the original 1828 building is an atmospheric labyrinth of cobbled courtyards and coal-fired kilns. Out of its various tours and tastings, Barley to Bottle is the most hands-on, access-all-areas option, letting guests create their own bottle of whisky in the Blending Laboratory, followed by a seafood lunch. How to do it: £15 per person (standard tour); £250 per person (Barley to Bottle). With its delicate, floral profile, Auchentoshan's sometimes dubbed 'the breakfast whisky', as well as 'Glasgow's malt', since the city's only a 20-minute drive away. Whisky newbies and sweet tooths can often be converted by its lighter, creme brulee character. That silkiness and clarity is the result of triple distillation — a process Lowland whiskies are renowned for — and the Auchentoshan Ultimate Tour details each stage. The space itself is fittingly clean-lined, light-filled and refined, with windows framing the Kilpatrick Hills. How to do it: £20 per person (Origin Tour); £45 per person (Cask Exploration); £75 per person (Ultimate Tour). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
