Macallan 1972 Speymalt Gordon and MacPhail / PING No.3

It may be hard to imagine today, but for much of the 20th century, Macallan was primarily a constituent malt in blends. It was not until the 1980s downturn in the market that the distillery decided to focus on its single malt brand. Fortuitously, this coincided with the crest of a wave of enthusiasm for the high quality releases that the distillery had licensed to Campbell, Hope & King and Gordon & MacPhail in the 1960s and 1970s. These remain some of the most collectible on the market. While global single malt sales volume is still lead by Speyside neighbours, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, Macallan is easily the most sought after. So much so in fact, that they had to open a brand new distillery in 2018, a subterranean architectural masterpiece within the Easter Elchies estate, boasting 36 copper pot stills.

Gordon & MacPhail helped Macallan survive during the 1930s and 1940s by buying a regular batch of stock from them, and this good standing has given them continued access to high quality casks over the years. The Speymalt series provided an excellent and affordable way to experience vintage Macallan as the popularity of distillery bottlings made them increasingly difficult to source.

This is a rare 2006 bottling of Macallan, distilled in 1972 and bottled under Gordon and MacPhail's Speymalt.

The Ping series is a range of exclusives for Juul's Vin & Spiritus. This is one of the original five that celebrated the 30th business anniversary of the company, and 50th birthday of its proprietor, Michael Madsen. A further four were later released to celebrate Madsen's 30th year with the company as well.