At SCOTCH in Edinburgh, independent bottler Grand Drams unveiled a new 36-year-old Macallan, a single cask release limited to just 131 bottles. Drawn from a first-fill Oloroso sherry cask and bottled at its natural strength of 40.7% ABV, the release is available through a ballot system run by Bevvy.
Grand Drams Sherry Cask Macallan
The Macallan 36-year-old is the second bottling from Grand Drams, the independent bottling arm of The Grand Whisky Auction. Distilled in 1988 and matured for more than three decades, the whisky was bottled without added color and is presented in an engraved decanter designed to highlight its natural sherry-rich hue.
The launch took place at SCOTCH in The Balmoral Hotel, which will also stock the expression. Grand Drams founder Beau Wallace emphasized the company’s selective approach: “It’s not a volume game for us… we’re careful in what we select – the best of the best – and hopefully everyone enjoys it.”
Laurie Black, co-founder of Bevvy, described the whisky in a tasting video from the launch: “The nose is chocolate immediately, but it’s not overly woody. That’s absolutely delicious; a little bit of natural spice from the cask, but because its lower ABV it’s very easy drinking.”
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Rare Single Cask Release
Wallace explained that the whisky had been carefully monitored in recent years:
“We could still go on for another couple of years, but we tried it at 34 and 35 and it was still fantastic at that point. Thirty-six was the point where we felt it was really perfect.”
Grand Drams was established as an extension of Grand Whisky Auction, founded in Inverness in 2018. Wallace’s family previously supplied barley to Highland distilleries including Clynelish and Balblair, giving the business deep roots in Scotch production.
The $3,300 (£2,400) price tag reflects current market levels for older Macallan bottlings, which remain among the most collectible in Scotch whisky. With only 131 bottles available worldwide, the ballot system underscores the growing reliance on lottery allocation for rare releases, as traditional retail routes struggle to meet collector demand.
This release confirms Macallan’s status at the top of the secondary market, where aged single casks continue to attract intense competition from collectors and investors alike.
