The Macallan was founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid on the Easter Elchies estate in the parish of Craigellachie, making it one of the first distilleries to be licensed under the Excise Act of 1823. For much of the twentieth century it traded quietly as a component in the blends, but from the late 1970s onward, under the marketing direction of Allan Shiach and Frank Newlands, The Macallan was repositioned as a luxury single malt built upon two guiding principles: small stills and sherry-seasoned oak.
The 25 Year Old Sherry Oak sits at the apex of the range that established that reputation. The casks are made to The Macallan's specification in Jerez de la Frontera, coopered from European oak, and seasoned with oloroso sherry for a minimum of eighteen months before being shipped north to Craigellachie. The spirit, drawn from the distillery's famously curvaceous copper stills — the smallest in Speyside — is married with these casks for twenty-five years in the warehouses above the River Spey.
The nose is unmistakable: oloroso richness in full voice, with dried figs, Christmas cake, polished mahogany and old leather. The palate is oily and weighty, carrying raisin, dark chocolate and warming spice, with the faint smoke that the distillery's pre-1994 direct-fired stills once imparted. The finish is long and resinous.
This is the expression that taught a generation of drinkers what sherried Speyside could be. It rewards patience and good company.
