The Macallan TIME : SPACE Launch [Tasted: #684]

Last week, Martin and I had the pleasure of attending events for The Macallan TIME:SPACE Collection in both Hong Kong and Sydney, as a celebration of the distillery’s 200th anniversary. The events took us on a journey through The Macallan’s storied past, from founder Alexander Reid’s dedication to quality in 1824 to the wartime ingenuity that shaped its legacy.

The Sydney launch event featured tastings of Macallan’s Classic Cut and 18yo expressions, two drams that beautifully reflect the distillery’s artistry. The Classic Cut 2023, bottled at 50.3% ABV, showcased vibrant notes of orchard fruits, elderflower, and citrus with hints of almond biscotti and toasted oak. Meanwhile, the 18yo Sherry Oak has rich layers of dried fruit, spice, and chocolate, a classic Macallan.

At the heart of the celebration was the unveiling of TIME : SPACE, a dual-chambered vessel housing two extraordinary whiskies. The 1940 Vintage, aged an astonishing 84 years, matured in meticulously selected sherry casks. Representing the future, the 2018 Vintage is a youthful 5-year-old whisky, marking the first distillate from Macallan’s state-of-the-art distillery.

Also revealed was TIME : SPACE Mastery, a stunning single malt created from 14 exceptional cask types. This whisky delivers rich layers of dates, pineapple, and coffee, all while retaining Macallan’s signature elegance. Presented in a circular bottle symbolising the cycle of time, the red case, complete with 200 spikes, is a bold celebration of the distillery’s bicentennial milestone.

With only 200 units of TIME : SPACE dual-chambered bottle available globally, the TIME : SPACE Mastery is the more accessible of the two (priced at $2,700 and arriving in Australia in November 2024, with the exact number of bottles produced not disclosed). The TIME : SPACE Collection is more than a celebration of the past—it’s a toast to the future of The Macallan's whisky mastery. 

Having both recently sampled the TIME : SPACE Mastery, here are our thoughts:

The Macallan TIME : SPACE Mastery (43.6% ABV, Speyside, Scotland, A$2,700 / $11,000HKD)

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Colour: Rich honey gold.

Nose (Hendy): A captivating aroma unfolds with a gentle musky scent, with a mix of ripe summer fruits—peaches and apricots—balanced by the sweetness of dates, figs and dried fruits. Subtle notes of chocolate with sweet oak.

Nose (Martin): There's a maturity here that (despite its years) you don't find on the 18yo. Not to the same extent anyway. Deep rich zesty coffee notes follow, rich honey notes, with some underlying milk chocolate and ginger. If you look hard enough, slight hints of tropical stone fruits (peaches mostly) appear.

Palate (Hendy): The palate opens up with soft ginger spices, offering a delicate palate with a touch of gunpowder before giving way to layers of citrus, oranges and honey bring a level of sweetness, with sweet oak at the end.

Palate (Martin): Viscous and mouth-filling, with notes of mature oak, a slightly earthiness (which increases over time), some orange zest, dates, maple syrup, ginger and caramel. It doesn't feel like 43% in the mouth - I'd say closer to 46-48%. Power and finesse here.  

Finish (Hendy): Long and lingering, with a gentle, soft spice and fading into notes of vanilla. It was a good Macallan.

Finish (Martin): Long, quite drying, with hints of oak, some BBQ pineapple, Oranges and residual peach notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 

93/100 (Hendy) 

92/100 (Martin)

Martin's final comments: Having also tried this side-by-side with the 2023 18yo Sherry Oak, I can confidently say it stands well above as a much more rich, viscous, sherried dram with significantly more complexity. It also has those hints of tropical notes shining through which you just don't get on the 18yo (Lead Whisky Maker Euan Kennedy, who presented our tasting, said he finds the tropical notes tend to come through at around 20 years of age). That said, whether the increased complexity and richness (and admittedly, very cool bottle design) justifies the price jump over the 18yo is a personal decision everyone will have to make for themselves...

Here’s to the next 200 years of Macallan.


Cheers,
Hendy.

Halcyon Spirits 17yo Single Cask 2007 Caol Ila [Tasted #683]

You may have have seen us cover a few releases from recently-established Scottish-based Independent Bottler Halcyon Spirits over the past 12 or so months. After bursting onto the scene mid-2023 with a 30yo Macallan, followed by a 32yo Auchentoshan, 30yo Clynelish & 27yo Burnside, they've now ventured over to Islay with their first peated release - a 17yo single cask Caol Ila from 2007.

I've been saying for a long time now that (in my opinion) Caol Ila is one of the most versatile Scotch whiskies out there. It can be fantastic young, middle-aged or long-aged, it's great from both Sherry and Bourbon casks, it works well in highballs (try it with lemon peel), cocktails and neat, and it's absolutely magic, magic stuff from the early 1980s.

I remember drinking a lot of 2007, 2008 Caol Ila single casks about 6-7 years ago (at the time around 10yo), and many of them were excellent, so I was excited to try one with a bit more age on it...

Halcyon Spirits "Halcyon Release #5" Caol Ila Aged 17 Years (56% ABV, Single Malt, 17yo, 1 of 273 bottles, Scotland, £150)
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Colour: Amber gold

Nose: Ashy, meaty BBQ at first, but with unmistakeable Caol Ila DNA underneath. Rich smoke, a slightly oak dustiness. After time, a subtle hint of meaty sulphur (in a good way).

Palate: Follows the nose, with some added sweet honey/maple notes, yet still plenty of smoked meat. It's soft, yet carries power and persistence. There's some hoisin sauce and glazed BBQ duck, and subtle, underlying hints of that trademark Caol Ila lemon-y note.

Finish: Long, soft smoke with a slightly sweet BBQ / lemon finish.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). Exactly what I hoped for - balanced, complex, delicious. For the price? Excellent value (especially for those in HK benefiting from the recently-reduced taxes).

Thanks to Halcyon for sending us the sample for this review.

Cheers,

Martin.

Gordon & MacPhail Recollection Series #3: 1984 Convalmore, 1981 North Port & 1991 Rosebank [Tasted #680 - 682]

A look back over our Gordon & MacPhail-tagged posts shows it's been a pretty great past few years when it comes to trying incredibly long-aged, well-matured whiskies here at TimeforWhisky.com. In addition to one-off bottlings in the the 60 Year Old, 70 Year Old and even 80 Year Old age ranges, we've also been introduced to "The Recollection Series" of whiskies - #1 in 2022, #2 in 2023 and now, hot off the press, comes Series #3.

These series feature single malts originating from closed, or long-time silent distilleries, with spirit matured in bespoke asks commissioned by G&M. 

Series #1 and #2 saw us taste some incredible drams like Glen Mhor from 1973 and 1982, 1982 St Magdalene, 1981 Port Ellen & 1981 Lochside, so whatever was in store for Series #3, we knew it would be good.

...and we weren't wrong. With 6 expressions this time around, the series is a little smaller, but no less impressive, featuring:

• Rosebank 1991 – RRP £2,100
• Glenlochy 1979 – RRP £4,000
• Convalmore 1984 – RRP £2,300
• Imperial 1990 – RRP £1,650
• North Port 1981 – RRP £3,850
• Port Ellen 1981 – RRP £10,000

Featuring eye-catching, bold new packaging, G&M calls the whiskies ‘forgotten masterpieces’ and ‘lost works of art’, with the distilleries’ spirit revived using stunning illustrations from Emmy-award winning artist, Bruno Mangyoku. 

Stuart Urquhart, Operations Director at Gordon & MacPhail, said: 

“This year marks our third Recollection Series, which again brings a carefully chosen selection of rare and unique whiskies to enthusiasts worldwide. We’re fortunate enough to have access to a liquid library which is testament to the relationships we’ve nurtured with whisky distillers for almost 130 years.

We’re proud to be able to revive the spirit of these historic distilleries, bringing their stories back into the present day.”  

Gordon & MacPhail "The Recollection Series #3" Rosebank 1991 32yo (51.2% ABV, 32yo, First Fill Bourbon Barrel #2114, Lowland, Scotland, One of 141 bottles, £2,100)
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A distillery called Rosebank was operating as early as 1817. From 1840, under the ownership of the Rankine family, Rosebank prospered, however the distillery eventually closed its doors in 1993. It was reopened under new ownership to great fanfare in 2024. This release is one of the oldest and rarest Rosebank single malts ever released.

Colour: Light sunset gold.

Nose: Light and tropical, with orange, banana and pineapple. As a kid I used to love Golden Circle Tropical Punch fruit juice, and this nose took me straight back to those primary school playground days.  It's a subtle nose though - slowly revealing itself. After time, some lemon slice shows through too.

Palate: Fruity maple syrup? There's a rose-flavoured note, and in the background (subtle) pineapple and banana. 

Finish: Mango and guava! Big time, and long. I recently tried a single cask Springbank (interestingly the same age) and it also had this hugely tropical finish 

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). The highest score I've ever given to a Rosebank? Probably. Feels like it's the best I've tried.

Gordon & MacPhail "The Recollection Series #3" North Port 1981 42yo (50.9% ABV, 42yo, Refill American Hogshead #2072, Highland, Scotland, One of 132 bottles, £3,850)
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Single malts featuring the distillery’s original name, Brechin Distillery, are vanishingly rare. Founded in 1820 near Scotland’s east coast by three brothers, David, John and Alexander Guthrie, the distillery stood half a mile from the River Esk. It remained in family ownership for over a century, renamed North Port Distillery, before new owners closed its doors in 1928. It reopened after the Second World War only to fall silent again in 1983, with the site demolished in 1994. 

Colour: Light amber gold

Nose: Instantly, that well-matured, balanced, incredibly complex nose that shines through on so many of these older G&M releases. There's oak, there's fresh fruit (orchard fruits, peaches, apples) with slightly tropical undertones, nuttiness, fresh pear, and (with a drop of water) some pineapple, apricot and more peach.

Palate: Follows the nose just beautifully, with the oak and fruit in perfect harmony, alongside some gingerbread, mandarin, apricot and graceful oak.

Finish: Very, very long, with a slightly drying oak note and (after a drop of water), some peach.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100 (Martin). Now THIS is whisky. Just a beautiful dram.

Gordon & MacPhail "The Recollection Series #3" Convalmore 1984 39yo (51.1% ABV, 39yo, Refill Sherry Hogshead #1733, Speyside, Scotland, One of 108 bottles, £2,300)
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Opened as the fourth of Dufftown’s famed seven stills in the heart of Speyside in 1894, Convalmore’s waxy, fruity spirit has very rarely been seen as a single malt whisky. Dedicated almost entirely to blended whiskies, production was interrupted in 1909 by a fire. The distillery expanded in 1964 but was mothballed in 1985. The original buildings are still on the site but the production equipment has been removed. 

Colour: Rich mahogany.

Nose: Muted at first, but after some time it turns into a rich and elegant display of mocha, leather, fresh berries, berry compote and toffee.

Palate: Mature oak with noticeable, but not overpowering sherry notes. Flamed orange zest, black forrest cake, sherry-soaked cherries, cigar humidor, milk coffee and to round things out, hints of dried apricot.

Finish: Long, balanced oak with citrus hints.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100 (Martin). My love for Convalmore continues.

For more information on Gordon & MacPhail or the Recollection series, visit www.gordonandmacphail.com.

Many thanks again to G&M who kindly provided the tasting of these three beautiful single malts, and & Weber Shandwick for the arrangement.

Cheers,

Martin.