81 Years In The Making, ‘The Reach’ Is The Oldest Single Malt Whisky From The Macallan Yet

Even in the haughty, Oloroso-soaked atmosphere inhabited by Macallan collectors — one habitually filled with Lalique crystal and US$1.5 million-dollar auctions — there is still room for the occasional extraordinary announcement.

That’s very much the case this August, following the unveiling of ‘The Reach’: now the oldest single malt expression (bottled from a single sherry-seasoned cask) to be offered by The Macallan, clocking in at an age statement of 81 years.

Said to “[exemplify] the enduring spirit that has been at the heart of The Macallan for almost 200 years”, this rarer-than-rare release is presented in a decanter of classic shape; held aloft by three meticulously detailed bronze-cast hands (each with its own fingerprint).

Unsettling Talk To Me inspired packaging aside, each of these sculptural appendages symbolizes a different ‘character’ in The Macallan’s story.

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In no especial order: one hand represents the distillery workers of 1940 who crafted the original spirit in “challenging times” ahead of WWII; Allan Shiach, a former Chairman of The Macallan (who, rather curiously, is also co-creator of The Queen’s Gambit); and Kirsteen Campbell, the Master Whisky Maker who was ultimately responsible for hand-selecting the cask used to create the Reach.

Bottled at an approachable and elegantly resolved ABV of 41.6%, for almost all ‘The Reach’ brand literature, The Macallan has opted (wisely, we might add) to focus on tasting notes: somewhat inevitable, given this whisky’s lack of real-world availability, to all but the most well-resourced of private individuals.

“The deep auburn hue is the first hint of this remarkable whisky’s astonishing depth,” says Campbell. “Offering notes of dark chocolate, sweet cinnamon and aromatic peat, leading on to treacle toffee, crystalised ginger and charred pineapple, before giving way to an intensely rich, sweet and smoky finish.”