SMWS 24.139 Beauty Beyond Skin Deep Macallan 1989 30 Year Old

A 30 year old single cask of Macallan distilled in 1989 and matured in a refill sherry butt before being bottled by the Scottish Malt Whisky Society.

Perhaps one of the most well known Scotch whiskies throughout the globe, The Macallan is a brand commonly associated with all things luxury. The world’s second best selling single malt, only being beaten by Glenfiddich, Macallan joined the ranks of legal distilleries in 1824 when a license was acquired. Originally being a small farm distillery it has seen a substantial number of renovations and expansions throughout the following two centuries. 12 wash stills and 24 spirit stills now sit inside the distillery, a necessary amount to keep up with the extreme demand the brand maintains. Although primarily known for their use of large ex-sherry butts sourced from a number of sherry houses, Macallan also utilises American oak bourbon casks. The distillery was bought in 1996 by Highland Distillers, now known as the Edrington group, and forms the core of their portfolio along with Highland Park, Glenrothes and Glenturret.

Macallan was a prominent feature in blends before the 1980’s and only when the industry faced a major downturn did the brand decide to focus on its single malt production. This shift in focus allowed it to thrive throughout the late 1970’s and into the early 1990’s. One of the components of Macallan’s success throughout this time was their use of the ‘Golden Promise’ barley variety. A product of gamma ray mutation, Golden Promise provided an excellent, flavour driven malt that held up very well against a strong cask influence. This combination of flavourful malt and Macallan’s exceptional quality sherry casks are what built Macallan’s reputation into what it is today. The distillery transitioned away from Golden Promise in 1994 in favour of a higher yield, although less flavourful, malt. Consequently, bottles distilled prior to 1994 are highly sought after amongst collectors.

Originally founded in 1983 by a small group of friends in Scotland, the Scottish Malt Whisky Society has grown to be one of the world’s premier independent bottling companies. With branches across the globe and over 30,000 members, the SMWS has established itself as the go-to for quality single cask whiskies. The society began its journey when a group of friends purchased a cask of whisky from the Glenfarclas distillery, intended to be shared and drunk as they saw fit. When a portion of the Vaults building in Leith became available the friends decided to set up a membership only society in the premises. Bottling that very Glenfarclas cask and labelling it “1.1” referring to the 1st distillery they bottled and the first release of said distillery. They continued to purchase casks and release them month by month, later dubbed “Outturn”. In 1995 the society would open their Greville St premises in London and 2004 the Queen St location in Edinburgh. Also in 2004 the SMWS was sold to Glenmorangie who were then purchased by Moet-Hennesy shortly after. In 2015 the society was then sold to a private collection of investors, now known as “Artisanal Spirits Company”.

With almost 40 years of experience bottling whisky under their belt it's no surprise that the Scottish Malt Whisky Society has seen the evolution of the worldwide whisky industry. As of 2021, the SMWS has bottled 150 different distilleries/styles of spirits including bourbon, cognac, brandy, armagnac, rye and even rum from brand new distilleries to those closed many decades ago. In 2021 the Australian branch of the SMWS selected the first ever Australian whisky for the Society in the form of a two year old Apera matured single malt from the Archie Rose distillery in Sydney. Shortly afterwards a six year old, also Apera matured, whisky was selected from Starward distillery in Melbourne.