Macallan Colour Collection 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700ml

The Macallan Colour Collection 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700ml (ABV varies; see bottle label) brings the most storied age statement in Scotch whisky to the Colour Collection, the age-statement series The Macallan Distillery of Craigellachie, Speyside introduced to global travel retail in August 2023. An 18-year-old Macallan is a benchmark by any measure, and here the classic age arrives dressed in the series' defining idea: colour that comes only from the cask, never from additives, presented in a 700ml bottling.

The whisky matures in American oak casks seasoned with sherry wine from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, enhanced by a delicate touch of European oak. Almost two decades of interaction between spirit and sherry-seasoned wood produce an inviting light auburn hue, the natural outcome of new make spirit from the Easter Elchies estate on Speyside working harmoniously with exceptional oak. The American oak contributes lemon citrus and vanilla; the European oak brings dried fruits, spices and orange citrus; the sherry seasoning adds almonds, toffee, dried fruit and a hint of spice.

The result is a sweet, citric profile of remarkable polish. The nose offers clementine, panna cotta and baked apples with sultanas over sweet oak, while the palate delivers vanilla sponge, milk chocolate with orange, citrus peel, oak and honeycomb. Dominant notes of sweet oak, clementine and honeycomb carry the finish, the signature of a light auburn whisky at the very centre of the collection's natural spectrum, poised between the golden 12 and the chestnut-dark 30.

For the 18 Year Old's artwork, graphic designer David Carson captured the warmth of the evening sun on the teja roof tiles of the Jerez bodegas, set against vineyards of chalk-white albariza soil. Created under Master Whisky Maker Kirsteen Campbell, the series marked the return of age statements to The Macallan's travel-retail whiskies, and the 18 Year Old sits at its heart: the classic Macallan age rendered in natural light auburn, and a cornerstone bottle for collectors building the full five-expression run.

• Size: 700ml
• Proof: ABV varies; see bottle label
• Age: 18 Years
• Origin: Speyside, Scotland
• Distillery: The Macallan Distillery, Craigellachie, Speyside
• Whisky Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Cask/Cooperage: American oak seasoned with sherry wine from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain; delicate touch of European oak
• Series: The Macallan Colour Collection (age-statement travel-retail series, launched 2023)
• Presentation: David Carson artwork evoking evening sun on Jerez teja roof tiles; packaging matched to the whisky's light auburn tone; natural colour only
• Tasting Notes: Clementine, panna cotta and baked apples with sultanas on the nose; vanilla sponge, milk chocolate with orange, citrus peel, oak and honeycomb on the palate