The Balmoral Hotel In Edinburgh has teamed up with The Macallan to offer the ultimate luxury whisky weekend getaway. The three night stay includes nights in Edinburgh and Speyside as well as a bottle of the Macallan Horizon and will set you back $127,000 (£100,000). I got in contact with the Balmoral Hotel to find out how they’d created this unforgettable experience.
“As soon as we heard about the collaboration we started work creating an incredible whisky experience,” Cameron Ewen, The Balmoral’s Head Whisky Ambassador and Bar Manager at SCOTCH, explained to me over email.
In line with its luxury status, whisky is increasingly being portrayed as an experience as much as a drink. Brands must exceed expectations to maintain that status, and maintain the attention of the customers who can afford these kinds of experiences. “A lot of thought went into creating the ultimate whisky experience. From organizing for our bespoke whisky cabinet to be made and perfectly placed in the center of SCOTCH, to securing the ability for our guests to purchase the exclusive bottle, experience The Macallan Estate and enjoy a stay at The Balmoral, Edinburgh’s most iconic hotel.”
The Horizon Whisky Experience
Brace yourself for the kind of indulgent whisky getaway that is the stuff of dreams. The Horizon Whisky Experience begins at The Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh for two nights in their flagship ‘Scone & Crombie’ suite. For those of you wondering, no it’s not named after the delightful British afternoon tea staple, but the Scottish palace of Scone in Perthshire and the historic Crombie Castle in Aberdeenshire.
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Beyond the opulent suite there is The Balmoral’s award-winning whisky bar SCOTCH, which houses the innovative Macallan Horizon bottle that guests of the getaway will own. In the heart of SCOTCH the sideways bottle, designed in collaboration with Bentley, sits in a custom built display cabinet that has been crafted by the team at Rod Wyllie Creative.
Under the expert guidance of Cameron Ewen, Head Whisky Ambassador and Bar Manager at SCOTCH, guests can choose to open The Horizon during the stay. Alternatively Ewen will help select something else from Balmoral’s extensive selection of whiskies and The Macallan Horizon can be taken home to enjoy at a later occasion.
Ongoing membership to the elite SCOTCH club is a part of the ‘Horizon Whisky Experience,’ which includes bottle residence in one of the personally engraved whisky keeps. As a member, The Balmoral’s expert Whisky Ambassadors will offer a whisky concierge service ensuring each visit to the bar is bespoke and memorable.
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Next guests can expect to retire to their suite and awake the next day refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to refuel at The Balmoral’s iconic breakfast. Guests will then face the difficult decision of choosing between The Balmoral’s Brasserie Prince’s indulgent continental buffet or the seasonal menu, which includes fresh Scottish seafood as well as traditional favorites including a full Scottish breakfast and Balmoral’s own cured salmon.
Next embark on a chauffeur driven trip to The Macallan Estate. On route explore the breathtaking Speyside scenery before heading for a private tour of Macallan and guided tasting. Finally experience a gastronomic dining experience in The Macallan Distillery, which will feature locally sourced dishes paired with a selection of wines and whiskies. Retire for an overnight stay at The Macallan Estate.
The following day the chauffeur will drive you back to Edinburgh for your final night in The Balmoral’s Scone & Crombie suite. In the evening guests are invited to the hotel’s fine dining restaurant Number One to enjoy a delicious seasonal seven course tasting menu paired with wines chosen by an expert sommelier.
Own A Bottle Of The Macallan Horizon Whisky
As important as the individual activities are, whisky is at the heart of the experience created by The Balmoral. Horizon has been crafted by Master Whisky Maker Kirsteen Campbell with the intention to capture the essence of the collaboration with Bentley.
“Inspired by her visit to the Bentley factory in Crewe, Kirsteen started the whisky making journey with a specific flavor profile in mind.” Neil Skinner, Marketing Director at Edrington UK, explained to me over an email. “The whisky making process took months of development and six different shortlists of casks to achieve the final profile.”
The official tasting notes describe the whisky as “Rich and indulgent dried fruit and spice flavor notes are beautifully balanced with oak and leather, aromas abundant in Bentley’s world.”
As much as 50 – 80% of the flavor notes we experience in whisky come from the cask itself. And Skinner was happy to explain that leather notes are all part of the notes experts can craft from natural interactions between whisky and oak.”
Finally I asked about the decision to go with no age statement for such a prominent release. We already know that age isn’t everything when it comes to value—after all, the most expensive whisky in the world is worth significantly more than the oldest whisky in the world. However, there are still certain expectations for premium releases and it takes commitment to defy them.
“The Macallan Horizon is a Non Age Statement single malt, which means it has not been created from a singular age of whisky but rather, the expertise of the whisky maker enables the selection of the combination of the right casks across ages to achieve a complex and unique flavor and character. For this reason, it does not carry an age statement,” explained Skinner, emphasizing The Macallan’s commitment to creating something unique and unconstrained by traditional standards. “The whisky makers require complete flexibility to choose the absolute right casks and therefore are not constrained or defined by age in crafting this whisky.”
The distinctive sideways bottle is the visual representation of the commitment to creating something unique with this collaboration; bringing Bentley aesthetics to Macallan presentation. However the bottle is there to encase the whisky itself, and bring the experience of a Bentley into all of the senses—finally including taste.
The three night stay created by the Balmoral and Macallan is not an experience everyone will get to enjoy, but if you are a fan of The Macallan—and have a spare $127,000—then Scottish whisky getaways do not often top this.
The original version of this article was written by me for Forbes.com
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