Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink
  3. News

The Macallan Colour Collection is a traveling scotch collector’s dream come true

From gold to chestnut, you'll love these colorful scotches

By
The Macallan Colour Collection
The Macallan

There are few Scotch whisky brands more well-known than The Macallan. And while it’s known for its award-winning, nuanced, usually sherry-rested single malt Scotch whiskies, it is also known for its innovative, long-aged special releases. We’re talking about expressions like The Macallan M, The Red Collection, and its various archival releases. With so many limited-edition offerings in recent years, it’s no surprise the brand just unveiled another new, exciting collection of whiskies.

The Macallan Colour Collection

It’s called The Macallan Colour Collection, and it was created to pay tribute to the two most important components of this iconic brand: sherry seasoning and natural color. The collection is made up of five age-statement single-malt Scotch whiskies. The first is The Macallan Colour Collection 12 Years Old, a whisky that was matured in a combination of American oak and European oak casks. Both casks were seasoned with sherry wine from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. The collection moves on to a 15-year-old, 18-year-old, and 21-year-old before finishing with an exceptional, complex 30-year-old expression.

Recommended Videos

While the whisky inside is rich, flavorful, and highly memorable, the artwork on the packaging follows suit. The Macallan tasked American artist and graphic designer David Carson, a former California teacher and competitive surfer, with creating the unique, colorful designs to pay tribute to the brand’s Scottish home as well as its history with sherry from Southern Spain.

The name, The Colour Collection, comes from The Macallan’s unending strive to highlight its natural color. After maturing in sherry-seasoned casks, the younger whiskies carry a lighter, almost amber, gold color, and as they move on in age, they grow ever dark like a slowly setting sun. The 30-year-old is much darker, an almost caramel, chestnut brown as compared to the light morning sun hue of the 12-year-old. It’s this melding of oak and whisky that gives The Macallan its memorable color palette.

While the wood itself is important to impart the vivid colors associated with the various ages, it’s the sherry-season cask that gives the whisky its renowned, rich, complex flavors and aromas of vanilla, dried cherries, caramel, and gentle spices.

Where can I find the collection?

Now that you’ve learned about this new collection, it’s time to give you the good news and the bad news. The bad news: while you might find a few random retailers selling a bottle or two from this collection, it’s technically a travel exclusive. The good news: you can find it at retailers and duty-free shops at countless airports throughout the world.

This means that in order to get your hands on one of these limited-edition single-malt Scotch whiskies, you’ll have to have a layover or travel to one of the international airports where these bottles are being sold. You can find them at airports in Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Japan, Panama, Mexico, Australia, and dozens of other airports scattered throughout the world. You can also find it in the U.S. at airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and more.

So, next time you’re stuck in an airport, waiting for your next flight, peruse the aisles at your nearest whisky retailer. There’s a good chance they’ll have a few bottles of this in stock. That is, until it sells out. Grab a bottle or two while you still can.

Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn
Writer
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
Topics
The best beers from California you can buy anywhere
California is more than just IPAs
Sierra Nevada

Currently, more than 9,000 breweries of all sizes operate in the US. That’s an awful lot of IPAs, stouts, and lagers to choose from. Some states are more saturated with breweries (per capita) than others. This includes places like Vermont, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, and, of course, California. While I could take a deep dive into all the biggest beer-producing states, today is all about The Golden State.

I have a special affinity for California beer, and it’s because of one style in particular. Sure, you can find a beer style to fit every palate in the state, but in California, the IPA reigns supreme. In fact, if you look at almost any list ranking the best beers in the state, it will be littered with IPA options. While I often imbibe pilsners and other lagers (as well as wheat beers and other lighter beers) in the summer as well as stouts and porters (and other dark beers) in the winter, I always go back to the classic West Coast IPA.

Read more
Blue Bottle just proved California can grow world-class coffee
Blue Bottle Coffee just dropped a super rare California-grown coffee
Blue Bottle Coffee

Coffee has always had its origins story – Ethiopia, Colombia, Panama. But California was never part of that conversation, until now. Coffee leader, Blue Bottle, has just launched the California Frinj San Diego Gesha, a washed Gesha grown in San Diego and Santa Barbara counties in partnership with Frinj Coffee, the pioneering network behind California's emerging coffee movement. Gesha is widely regarded as one of the most prized varietals in specialty coffee, known for its delicate floral complexity and fruit-forward character –  and this one delivers jasmine, peach, and strawberry in a cup.

Up until now, many coffee brands would shy away from growing specialty-grade coffee in California, as it requires years of experimentation and innovation. For the past two decades, Jay Ruskey, founder of Frinj Coffee, has helped pioneer California coffee product through continual experimentation with innovative growing practices, coffee varieties, and post-harvest processing. Now, this exciting new launch finally reflects that work. Cherries from two California farms were processed at Frinj's wet mill in Ventura, using carefully controlled fermentation to result in an exceptionally clean cup of coffee. This new variety showcases the signature floral aromatics and bright fruit character of the Gesha variety.

Read more
Dark rums for whiskey fans
These rums are a great choice for whiskey drinkers
rum bottles

There’s no disputing the appeal of whisk(e)y. Whether it's single malt Scotch whisky, bourbon, rye whiskey, Irish whiskey, or others. There’s something special about this barrel-aged spirit. But it’s not the only aged spirit, and if you’re limiting your sipping to this style, you’re missing out on some other special, flavorful spirit. Especially dark rum.

I’ve spent years imbibing the various forms of whiskey. But every now and then, I branch out and pour myself a glass of dark rum instead. Unsurprisingly, the two spirits have some of the same aromas and flavors. Since both are matured in wood barrels, they impart flavors like caramel, vanilla, dried fruits, and oak (among others). If you don’t already, you should branch out and add dark rum to your aged spirits rotation.

Read more