Macallan Brand Scotch Whisky

Located on the banks of the Spey, The Macallan was one of the first legal distilleries in Scotland: In 1824, Alexander Reid received the distilling license. When he died in 1847, his son Alexander took over the distillery. After his death, the distillery passed in 1858 to James Shearer Priest and James Davidson, who sold it in 1886 to James Stuart, who also owned the Glen Spey distillery at the time. In 1892, the distillery was acquired by Roderick Kemp, whose family expanded the business over the next 100 years. From 1965, the number of stills was significantly increased: in 1965 from 6 to 12, in 1974 to 18, and in 1975 to 21. In 1996, the Highland Distillers Ltd., which at the time also included Bunnahabhain, Glenrothes, and Highland Park and was itself purchased in 1999 by the Edrington Group, acquired the distillery.

The Macallan has always been popular with blend masters, who still use it in their blended whiskies. As a single malt whisky in bottles, it first appeared in the 1960s, initially only in the Speyside whisky region. It was not until 1980 that the decision was made to market The Macallan more widely within Great Britain.