The Macallan Defends No-Aging Statement Shift

By Kurt Maitland and Richard Thomas

When The Macallan launched their new 1824 Series of single malt scotch, they set off a ruckus in the spirits industry by saying they felt the use of aging statements has made the industry “lazy.” Some whiskey fans, pundits, and spirits industry personalities were quick to pounce on the claim, alleging that The Macallan’s shift to no-aging statement premium single malts and the criticism that went with it were motivated more by stock problems than by a desire to produce a better product.

The word from The Macallan is that a supposed stock crunch has nothing to do with the introduction of the 1824 Series (and The Whiskey Reviewer’s own research indicates that claims of a general stock crunch for scotch are overblown). Instead, the distillery pointed to the success of their earlier 1824 Collection, a Travel Retail exclusive introduced in 2009, as the inspiration for the new Series.

“This range addresses the demand for high quality products crafted from expertise, rather than a pure focus of age,” says Charlie Whitfield, The Macallan’s American brand ambassador. “Taste is subjective and very personal, and as we know, some people will prefer a 10 year old whisky compared to an 18, and that can easily depend on mood, time of day and the weather.”

Whitfield went on to explain that instead of sheer age, the emphasis for the 1824 Series is on the quality of the wood itself, and on culling the individual casks at the right time: “Research has shown, however, that 65% of the flavour of single malt comes from the quality of the wood cask it is matured in. By moving away from the age straight jacket, our whisky maker, Bob Dalgarno, can select the most appropriate casks which deliver the desired colour, flavour and aroma.”

The Macallan also stated it had no plans at the present time to change the existing, core expressions available in the American marketplace. That statement alone blows claims that the drive to introduce no-aging statement scotch was motivated by stock problems out of the water, since the age statement-bearing scotches of the Fine Oak and Sherry Oak lines are to remain in production and available for purchase in what is by far the world’s single largest export market for scotch.

The Macallan’s new no-aging statement line supplements their existing age statement-bearing expressions, rather than replacing them in general. While the describing the industry as “lazy” might have been a poor choice of words, the facts taken with The Macallan’s own explanation of why they did what they did reduces the unsupported allegations of The Macallan’s critics to the level of conspiracy theory.