Edrington spirits company has revealed the new $253 million (£140m) Macallan Distillery and visitor experience in north-eastern Scotland designed to enable production of the single malt to increase by a third.
The Macallan Distillery – Photo Supplied
Occupying 390-acres, the Macallan Distillery and visitor experience is located on an Easter Elchies estate in north-eastern Scotland and has been home to the luxury single malt since 1824.
Edrington is investing a total of $902 million (£500m) in the brand with the distillery as the centrepiece. This program increases investment in whisky, warehousing, and particularly in The Macallan’s signature sherry-seasoned oak casks.
With an increased international demand, the new distillery will enable production of The Macallan to increase by a third. The new stills were crafted by Scottish coppersmiths Forsyths, who have been making the brand’s distinctive, ‘curiously small’ stills for The Macallan since the 1950s.
The project was announced in 2012 and the build began in December 2014. The first whisky ran through the stills in December last year and the visitor experience will open its doors to the public on 2nd June. It is expected that visitor numbers will double in the first year and continue to rise thereafter.
The distillery is designed by an internationally acclaimed architect, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, who were selected to lead the project after an international competition.
Elgin-based Robertson Construction has delivered the complex architectural design, working with 25 contractors to bring the vision for the new distillery and visitor experience to life. During construction, up to 400 people specialising in more than 20 different trades were employed on site.
The striking piece of contemporary architecture is cut into the slope of the land, taking its cues from ancient Scottish hills and maximising the aesthetic beauty of the building whilst minimising the visual impact on the Speyside landscape, which has been classified as an ‘Area of Great Landscape Value’.
The undulating timber roof structure is one of the most complicated timber roof structures in the world, comprising 380,000 individual components.
When the doors open in June 2018, it is expected that this new Macallan enterprise will deliver significant benefits for the tourism industry and Scotch whisky exports.
This article was originally published on June 6, 2018 on our sister website Gourmantic.
