It’s not a stretch to affirm that most of us acquire wisdom and the accompanying virtue of discernment from the parental pillars in our lives. As we mature in the world we live in, so does our navigation of it and from the founts of wisdom and discernment, we earn the power of taste. And as men of taste we know that The Macallan has long set the gold standard in the arena of single malt whisky.
Since its inception in 1824, the esteem of The Macallan has blossomed into a globally resounding guarantee of the exquisite experience to come when the liquid that bears its name is poured into an awaiting glass. As Father’s Day rolls around, it is a foregone conclusion that we will be toasting to the leading men in our lives with nothing but The Macallan, which has upped the stakes of the celebration with the second edition in a limited annual release series, with the unveiling of the The Macallan Home Collection, River Spey.
Just as The Macallan has always held a torch for its birthplace of Speyside in the Scottish Highlands, this special edition shines a reverential light on the panoramic beauty of the natural environment that enfolds The Macallan Estate. To honour this legacy, the house has commissioned photo-realist artist Michelle Lucking to commemorate the collection with a set of six original paintings of the River Spey, as well as a unique packaging sleeve that accompanies the whisky housed within.
With this collection, The Macallan ensures that this Father’s Day, what we gift our dads looks as good as it tastes.
THE RIVER OF LIFE
Water is life. For The Macallan, the truth of that dictum applies profoundly on multiple levels. The River Spey is the literal and symbolic life-force of the Macallan Estate. To this day, the river flows through it, a poignant and picturesque reminder of how inextricably linked to nature the House is. More than 200 years after The Macallan founder Alexander Reid laid the foundation of the distillery, the brand continues to preside over and maintain its 1.5-mile-stretch of the river and its ecology.
In The Macallan Home Collection, River Spey, that art and life imitate each other is reflected gorgeously and emphatically. The umber-coloured single malt whisky boasts a palette shared by the River Spey and its surrounding landscape. Enjoyed for generations, its complex, exquisitely smoky-sweet taste, redolent of raisins, chocolate and the vanilla, coconut and spicy clove that compose its medium finish of toasted oak, calls directly back to the river and the flora that thrives there. The single malt’s umber hue is quite literally the colour of life.
THE ART OF THE MACALLAN
Every bottle of The Macallan is special. What sets The Home Collection, River Spey edition apart is that it features artwork by famed pastel hyper-realist artist Michelle Lucking. Known for her enchanting approach to seascapes, she lends her brush to invoking the rich depth and texture of the natural environment of the River Spey. Her pastel-forward signature is evident in the six original paintings of the River Spey, which use natural pigmented pastels to showcase and centre the river for the wondrous and endlessly dynamic force of nature that it is. Over and above these six paintings, an additional painting of the River Spey by her adorns the sleeve that holds each bottle of The Macallan Home Collection, River Spey.
“Water for me is a constant source of inspiration, I love exploring it and painting it, and so when The Macallan asked me to capture the majestic River Spey and its importance to them, their whisky and the Estate as part of the Home Collection, it just felt to me like a really brilliant fit”, Lucking says her involvement in this collection.
What makes this offering a full-circle moment in the history of The Macallan is that it underscores that Home cannot be separated from nature. This collection is eponymous named because it is in the Speyside––where the titular river flows––that The Macallan is home. Steven Bremner, Whisky Maker at The Macallan, identifies this truth as a hallmark of what makes The Macallan the outstanding standard-setter that it is.
“The Macallan Home Collection, River Spey brings together our time-honoured traditions and our continual inspiration from the nature that runs through The Macallan Estate and offers our community – at home and around the world – a unique insight into what makes our whiskies so exceptional through different aspects of our home”.
From the River Spey to the rest of the world. That is the trajectory of The Macallan.
This Father’s Day, give a bottle from the collection a home on your father’s shelf.
The Macallan Home Collection, River Spey retails for S$752 at at The Macallan E-Boutiques.
