Sometimes, whisky feels like a mysterious and aloof entity that only certain people are allowed access to.
Despite growing up in Aberdeenshire with many distilleries in close proximity, it wasn’t something I felt permission to access until recent years.
Never have I felt so close to whisky’s longstanding magic and mysticism as I did on my recent tour of Macallan.
The Macallan Mastery Experience comes with a £250 price tag, and is described as an opportunity to “delve deeper into the whisky making process”.
The Macallan Estate are also launching a new experience at £1,800 available to book from April for up to six people.
It’s key to mention that they also offer more affordable tours, including several options at £50 per person.
So what did I get for £250 and do I think it is worth the higher cost?
The Macallan Distillery tour begins
From the moment you step foot inside The Macallan distillery, you’re treated like royalty. The staff practically greet you by name.
My tour guide is Adam, who is cheerful, chatty and willing to answer all of my many, many questions.
I sit and enjoy a welcome dram – 18 Double Cask – with the rest of the small tour group, and marvel at the whisky archive wall.
It’s hard to put into words how impressive this is. 728 Macallan bottles neatly arranged on their shelves, with a light making each of them glow.
It’s truly a work of art.
We all are invited to step inside the archive wall next and stand encased with glowing amber bottles on either side as Adam begins to explain the birth of Macallan in 1824.
We’re told all about the ex-school teacher and farmer Alexander Reid – given red hair in his portrait thanks to his surname – who started it all.
He, of course, used the excess barley on his farm to make whisky. The rest is history.
Macallan Distillery’s ‘curiously small stills’
We make our way up to the distilling area next. Here, you can really take in the magnitude of the building. Its remarkable, rounded roof makes it look like a spaceship from the outside. And it is jaw-dropping from the inside.
Countless pieces of wood are connected like a jigsaw, only two of which are the same size and shape.
This provides a bed for the living roof, one of Macallan’s many sustainability efforts.
We learn about the distillery’s “curiously small stills” which help to determine the character of the spirit.
The staff here communicate seamlessly, working behind the scenes to bring all of us a luxury experience.
One of the members of our tour group is in stilettos – not ideal for walking over the grated flooring. Adam contacts another team member on a walkie talkie who, in a matter of seconds, comes up the stairs and gives her a pair of trainers.
Colour me impressed.
Here, there’s a model of the Easter Elchies home, the white building which features on every bottle of The Macallan.
We can look out at the real thing from the huge windows on the side of the building.
A turning of a wheel provides a glimpse inside of what the building would have looked like in years gone by – complete with tiny lights in the rooms.
It’s the fanciest doll house I’ve ever seen.
What was it like ‘sitting inside a cask’?
Another memorable part of the tour for me is the glimpse we get into cask-making.
I don’t want to ruin this for anyone with spoilers, but it is very immersive look at the process.
You sit inside a cask-shaped room, surrounded by the sounds and sights of the cooperage.
It’s the first time on any of the distillery tours I’ve been on where I’ve learned about this. It provides an understanding of the process from start to finish.
From the European or American oak tree being cut down, to the whisky entering the cask, it is a five or six year journey.
I’m impressed, interested and of course ask Adam another dozen questions about it. And he has the answer to every single one of them.
Whisky tasting at The Macallan
Next, we ascend the red stairs to the bar area. There’s an amazing view of the stills on one side, the whisky archive wall on the other.
And behind us, the former home of farmer Alexander Reid.
Even the table we’re seated at for the whisky tasting tells a story. A copper band sweeps through the wooden surface in the shape of the river Spey.
Adam is thorough, and explains the drams in a down-to-earth, digestible way. Nobody in the group is made to feel insecure about their whisky knowledge or habits.
The flight includes the Home River Spey, Rare Cask and Enigma.
I won’t spoil the tasting for you, but these are all delicious. My favourite is the Rare Cask.
Adam tells us that drams in the bar range from £7 to £15,200 each.
One of the highlights of the tour is undoubtedly the trip town to the Cave Privée cellar.
This is our last stop before dinner. And it is so exceptional that it renders the whole tour group speechless.
We enter with music playing, the lights slowly glowing to life.
The underground cellar has dozens of casks on the walls.
But these aren’t the most rare and valuable. Those, says Adam, are stored in locked cages inside a locked warehouse.
Here, we enjoy our final dram: An Estate, A Community and A Distillery.
Sir Peter Blake, who designed the album cover for The Beatles record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, collaborated with The Macallan on this release.
So, is the tour worth £250?
The Mastery Experience at Macallan, which ended with a tasting menu served at the new Michelin Guide restaurant TimeSpirit, was immersive, informative and impressive.
I want to give Adam a special mention because he was a delight during the whole tour, and I couldn’t believe his depth of knowledge and professionalism.
The tour inspired wonder, intrigue and delight and I would visit again in a heartbeat.
I believe it is absolutely worth the £250 price tag.
Find more about The Macallan distillery tours on their website.
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