Macallan 60 Year Old Red

The Macallan 60 year old red collection is a blend of whiskies aged in refill and sherry casks. This particular blend has a complex finish with hints of wood smoke and clove. Its ABV is 42.6% and was selected by Sarah Burgess, Lead Whisky Maker at The Macallan.

The Macallan 60 year Old Red Collection is aged in cask #263. The label is hand painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon. The painting depicts the Macallan estate on Speyside. The bottle is extremely difficult to open, and is only available at the Macallan distillery.

The Macallan was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid. Reid’s surname means “the red one” in Scots, and it was chosen as a tribute to his ruddy red hair and face. The brand began issuing whiskeys in red bottles, and in 1938, Allan Shiach began to mark vintages with red ribbons.

The Macallan 60 Year Old Red Collection is Hard to Open

The Macallan Red Collection combines some of the distillery’s oldest single malt scotch whiskies. It is comprised of both ongoing and limited release expressions. The youngest whisky is 40 years old, while the oldest is 78 years old.

The Macallan 60 Year Old Red Collection is made from a cask filled in 1926 and laid untouched in the Speyside distillery for six decades. In 1986, the cask was divided and bottled into 40 bottles. Of those, twenty-four were given labels created by famous artists, one was commissioned to be painted, and two were auctioned in blank bottles. The remaining 14 bottles are intended to be released as part of the Macallan’s vintage release program.

Another Macallan whisky that broke records this year is The Fine & Rare 60 Year Old. The whisky was sold for $1.9 million in October on Scotch Whisky Auctions. This Macallan whisky is the oldest officially bottled Macallan whisky.