Macallan 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt early 2000s

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.

The distillery added a 25 year old to their annual output in 1983, called the Anniversary Malt and accompanied at the time by the limited edition 50 year old. The 25 year old Anniversary Malt was produced for two decades before being replaced, and is now one of the most highly prized expressions in the world of whisky.

This iteration was bottled in the early 2000s.