Lots of Macallan news these days. This one came through the back door. None of my “regular” Macallan company contacts told me about this. We heard about it via their PR company–and seemingly quietly.
Maybe it’s because only five bottles will be available in the U.S., or that it’s only 15 years old (distilled in 1962?), via a collector. We’re not given a price. Only a price range of the Fine & Rare collection–not much help.
Here’s the press release. I didn’t get a review sample but, with only five bottles, I don’t think it really matters.
Rested in meticulously selected Spanish Oak casks for 15 years, The Macallan Fine & Rare 1947 Single Malt Scotch Whisky is now available for the first time in highly-limited quantities. This extraordinary 15 year old whisky was purchased by The Macallan from a noted single malt collector, which allows the expression to take its rightful place in the Fine & Rare collection.
With only five available bottles in the United States this newest addition to The Macallan Fine & Rare collection is a coveted item for any Scotch aficionado’s personal collection.
The Macallan Fine & Rare 1947 is unique not only for its rarity but also for its attributes:
Color: Natural rich beech color drawing from sherry casks, including second fill.
Nose: Peat balanced by citrus fruit, chocolate orange with vanilla, and oak notes in the background.
Palate: Light fruits, bitter chocolate and wood spice, with a touch of peat.
Finish: Lingering fruits and peat smoke.
Price: Available upon request. Bottles in The Macallan Fine & Rare collection range between $1,000 and $60,000.
as per TWE new releases (as of October 14th) this 1947 was
originally bottled for an Italian collector (as a 15 year old) in
1962. repurchased (+ i am assuming then diluted to 43.% &
re-bottled) for F&R, it is currently available for 4,000 GBP, ex
vat. yet another nearly perfect example of all that i’ve been
ranting about elsewhere on this blog. what do we call it= the
old young? BTW, they have a 5cl miniature, bargain priced
at a mere 353.19 GBP.
the excess of this (space/attention given to it) doesn’t bother
me nearly as much as the failure to recognize that, while the
great one floods the market with more & more things that we
are unlikely to get even a glimpse of, there have been more
than 50 other (TWE) new releases during the last thirty or so
days. i realize that we won’t see many of them (at least not
in the same form) either. But many of the independently
bottled (new Signatory stuff, for instance) expressions usually
come here in some variant &, for me, the really big thing on
its way= sin an doigh ileach or PC7 (on the shelves there for
nearly a month) isn’t getting any advanced notice whatever.
OK, passing on ‘the’ Macallan’s PR is easier than keeping up
with a somewhat parallel universe over there, but having an
occasional (like when you told us about the two 1998 10 year
old Bruchladdich sherry cask items right after they came out
in the UK) heads up on stuff that’s gonna be of some use (we
may actually be able to buy it) to US is far more important.
WHEN we know what’s going on we can alert our retailers,
they can pester their suppliers &, with any luck, it’ll somehow
make its way through the byzantine chain to US.
maybe you could (please) think of a way to expand this blog
so readers/ responders could initiate direct conversations on
subjects of interest to them= without having to wait for your
presentations. also, some improvement on the recent posts
method of going back to past entries would make for easier
reference/ continuation. don’t they have index features you
could add?
Harvey, I pass on information when I get it. If the companies don’t send me information, I can’t read their minds. And I’m not going to quote secondary sources, because I can’t be certain that their information is accurate.
In many instances, as you know, a whisky company will introduce a whisky overseas several months (if not years) before they do here in the U.S. They will wait to send the U.S. press any press releases until the whisky comes here because they don’t want us writing about whiskies that aren’t available. That’s understandable.
Bruichladdich is an exception. They send me press releases at the same time they send press releases to the overseas press, even though the whiskies won’t be showing up here in the U.S. for several months or more.
You are among a very minute percentage of U.S. whisky consumers who buy from whisky companies overseas before the whiskies show up here in the U.S. Probably 99.99% of the consumers wait for the whisky to be sold here in the U.S. before they buy the whisky.
So, what I do is very simple and logical. When I get information, I pass it on to my blog readers as soon as I can.
Regarding your last comment, we are revising and expanding our website next year and it’s possible that we might expand this blog into something greater to allow different topics initiated by my blog readers. But for now, I initiate the topics–which is the intent of this blog. That’s why it is called, “What does John know?”