Macallan 1953 Fine and Rare 49 Year Old #516

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 Fine and Rare Series of whiskies was launched in 2002, designed to represent the very best vintages and whisky that Macallan had to offer, dating back as far as 1926.

This was distilled in 1953 and then bottled 49 years later from single butt #516. One of 100 bottles.