Macallan’s new TIME : SPACE Sherry Edition gets an extraordinary amount right. It brings a 20-year-old whisky to the same £1,100 price point as the original, non-age-statement TIME : SPACE Mastery, wraps it in a striking new presentation, and marks an important chapter in Macallan’s relationship with Valdespino.
I love the ambition behind it. What frustrates me is that Macallan has created a release worth talking about without doing enough to start the conversation.
The age statement is the clearest improvement. When TIME : SPACE Mastery appeared in 2024, its £1,100 price bought a whisky without one. Two years later, that same sum buys a 20-year-old expression. That does not make it inexpensive, particularly when Macallan 18 costs considerably less, but it does make the proposition more compelling. To me, it also shows how much the market has changed.
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READ THE STORYRather than lower the price of a prestige release, Macallan has given buyers more whisky for their money. Anyone buying with a quick auction profit in mind should be cautious, though. The original Mastery has recently traded around or below its launch price.
The Valdespino connection gives this edition its real identity. Macallan presents it as its first whisky finished in casks seasoned with sherry from the producer, bringing the people and processes behind those casks into the story. The yellow-green case, with circles evoking grapes, is a surprising choice for a sherry-led release. I might have expected red.
In person, however, it looks richer and more luminous than photographs suggest, and I prefer it to the original presentation. The circular decanter remains unapologetically designed for display, but it looks fantastic on a shelf or bar.
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My problem is not the product. It is the missed opportunity to make its arrival feel like an event. Macallan once generated genuine excitement around releases; this one could have benefited from something as simple as a small run of hand-signed bottles at its Harrods boutique.
More importantly, I want to hear from the people behind it: the sherry producers, the cask makers and the craftspeople responsible for that unusual glass and packaging. When a release depends so much on its story, those details should not feel like an afterthought.
TIME : SPACE Sherry is a handsome release with a stronger value proposition and a story worth telling. Macallan made something special; I only wish it had shared more of the work and excitement behind it. Would that deeper story change how you feel about a £1,100 bottle?
To hear my full thoughts on The Macallan’s newest TIME : SPACE whisky, check out my YouTube video.
