Avid scotch whisky collectors will know that when single cask, cask strength Macallan whiskies appear on the secondary market, they cause quite a stir. This is not only due to the brand name ‘The Macallan’ emblazoned across the front of each bottle but also because of the extreme rarity of these types of expressions, such as The Macallan Exceptional Casks.
However, if you have little experience of the secondary scotch whisky market, the fuss surrounding these bottles can be perplexing. So, let’s discuss just why single cask, cask strength Macallan is so rare. We currently have three Macallan Exceptional Cask expressions on The Whiskey Wash Shop (14812/01, 14813/12, and 14369/11 – for a hugely discounted price), as well as three other exciting single cask Macallans.
The Macallan’s Brand Positioning
If you are versed in the world of scotch whisky, you will have heard of The Macallan. Arguably the pinnacle of luxury scotch whisky, The Macallan has positioned itself at the head of the single malt market with carefully timed strategic releases and genius marketing decisions. Today you hear “The Macallan,” you think “luxury scotch”.
This premium status allows The Macallan to sell its whisky for premium prices. The brand can, and does, sell no-age-statement (NAS) expressions for a higher price tag than you might expect from other scotch whisky brands. This means that The Macallan can make a profit and maintain its luxury presence in the market without using valuable single casks with impressive age statements. Look no further than the recent Macallan TIME : SPACE Mastery, which was released at £1,100 (~$1,400) despite being an NAS expression.
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Such releases preserve the rarity and integrity of The Macallan’s aged stocks, which are usually reserved for ultra-premium releases like The Macallan TIME : SPACE 84 Year OId – and even that is not a single cask expression. However, it is thought that many such stocks are owned by Gordon & Macphail, which further reduces The Macallan’s access to historic single casks.
The Logistics Of Single Cask, Cask Strength Bottlings
‘Single cask’ refers to a whisky that has been bottled from one cask alone. ‘Cask strength’ refers to a whisky that has not been diluted down to strength with water. Rather, the ABV is as it was when the whisky was drawn from the cask.
Bottling a whisky from a single cask at cask strength is a costly endeavor. Firstly, a distillery must consider the cask yield. A single cask that has been maturing for many years will have lost some whisky to the angels. As such, the bottle yield from that cask will be limited, as opposed to bottling a vatting of single malts, for which a distillery can use multiple casks. Additionally, keeping the whisky at cask strength will further reduce the bottle yield. A distiller would be able to produce many more bottlings if they diluted the whisky down to 40% ABV.
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So, you can see why it would make sense for The Macallan to limit the production of such bottlings. That is why, when single cask Macallan appears on the secondary market, scotch whisky collectors get quite so animated.
The Macallan Exceptional Casks
The Exceptional Cask series was first introduced in the early 2000s, with the initial releases comprising five unique casks bottled between 2000 and 2005, known collectively as the Exceptional Cask, Cask Strength series.
In 2017, Macallan reimagined and relaunched the collection, featuring whiskies aged between 12 and 22 years. This range has since expanded, notably including a rare 1950 single cask added in 2018.
True to its name, each bottle in this series is drawn from a single cask, limiting release numbers. The largest of these releases yielded 643 bottles (2017/ESB-9100/13), while the smallest have been under 200 bottles, such as the Macallan 1997 Exceptional Cask ESH-14813/12 bottled in 2018 (see below).
The Macallan maintains an archive of Exceptional Cask releases from 2017 to 2019, and both the original and the reimagined series have become highly coveted on the secondary market. You can see the archive here.
As such, we are excited to be offering three Macallan Exceptional Cask whiskies on The Whiskey Wash Shop*. They are:
- The Macallan Exceptional Cask 1997 ESH-14812/01, bottled in September 2019 at 53.4% ABV. One of 198 bottles – $4,832
- The Macallan Exceptional Cask 1997 ESH-14813/12, bottled in October 2018 at 54.1% ABV. One of 187 bottles – $5,167
- The Macallan Exceptional Cask 1997 ESH-14369/11, bottled in November 2018 at 52.3% ABV. One of 228 bottles – $4,832
*Prices are subject to slight fluctuation depending on currency exchange rates.
With such limited bottle yields for each cask, the opportunities to own these rare whiskies are few and far between. If you are a Macallan collector, a single cask, cask strength expression would be the jewel in your collection.
Other Single Cask, Cask Strength Macallan Expressions
There are two other single cask, cask strength collections from The Macallan – also very rare, which goes without saying – The Macallan Easter Elchies and the original Exceptional Cask bottlings from 2000-2005. Luckily for collectors, we have The Macallan 1989 Exceptional Cask, Cask Strength b.2003 on the shop right now for just $4,332.
Whilst the Easter Elchies bottles remain elusive, we do stock two incredible miniatures of these single cask whiskies: the 1997 14 Year Old and the 1997 13 Year Old.
We offer free UK and US shipping on all bottles. Don’t miss out, and purchase a piece of The Macallan’s legacy.
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