UK. Edrington Global Travel Retail is celebrating the launch of the travel retail-exclusive The Macallan Colour Collection with a four-day immersive art exhibition at Somerset House, London.
The Macallan Colour Collection is a new range of exceptional whiskies exploring the brand’s commitment to delivering natural colour through maturation in sherry-seasoned casks. It is launching across key airports and selected duty free locations around the world from September.
As reported, The Macallan is celebrating the launch with a week-long homepage makeover of The Moodie Davitt Report.
The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies was on location for the exclusive unveiling of The Macallan Colour Collection exhibit at the Somerset House Embankment Galleries. The exhibit is open to the public for four days before stopping in Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore and Los Angeles.
The Macallan Colour Collection is made up of five age statement single malt Scotch whiskies. The range spans all the colours of the whisky spectrum showcasing the natural hues derived from maturation. It begins with the golden oak-toned 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 18 Year Old and 21 Year Old, all the way to the burnished chestnut of the 30 Year Old.
The Colour Collection features a new visual identity inspired by the distillery’s heritage and its spiritual home, The Macallan Estate. The designs were created by long-time The Macallan collaborator American illustrator/graphic artist David Carson and underline the brand’s connection to nature. Carson took inspiration from Jerez, where The Macallan’s sherry-seasoned oak casks are made.
The Macallan Colour Collection art exhibition is inspired by the whisky house’s collaboration with Carson. It begins with a Time Tunnel, which takes visitors through the different age statement whiskies. This is followed by a recreation of Carson’s art studio – which features a projection of the original artwork born from the partnership.
The following artworks highlight the different tasting profiles of each of the age statement whiskies, highlighting the different visual cues and references that inspired the Colour Collection’s new visual identity.
Guests were greeted by The Macallan Brand Education Manager Stefan Mases and The Macallan Lead Whisky Maker Euan Kennedy, who introduced the range and the natural colour philosophy that was central to its creation.
The event concluded with a special tasting of the Colour Collection led by Mases, taking guests through the nuances in aroma and taste profiles of the 12, 15 and 18 Year Old whiskies.
Deepening in colour with age, the range showcases the natural tones derived from maturation in The Macallan’s sherry-seasoned oak casks from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
The Colour Collection is crafted from predominantly sherry/American oak casks, which include a subtle touch of European oak.
“I’m delighted to introduce this new whisky collection to the world,” said Kennedy. “The challenge for us as whisky makers is to bring out the natural flavour and colour of the whisky, which comes from our sherry-seasoned oak casks. The other aspect of the colour collection of course is the partnership with David Carson – which you can see very vividly through this art exhibition.”
Mases added: “Carson is known for deconstructing art layer by layer and is known to tell endless stories with just one art piece. The original art pieces across this exhibition tell the story of each whisky in the range, which is a celebration of natural colour.”✈
