MACALLAN 1967- EASTER ELCHIES HOUSE
Easter Elchies House is our Spiritual Home and features proudly on the label of every bottle of The Macallan.
Sir Peter Blake’s ghostly artwork for this unique label is a wonderful tribute to The Macallan’s Spiritual Home. Easter Elchies House has existed since at least 1453. Ransacked by Jacobite soldiers because of the owners’ Hanoverian sympathies, it was reconstructed in 1700 for Captain John Grant, whose family and descendants are interred in the mausoleum on the Estate.
Easter Elchies House was requisitioned for military use and distilling was outlawed from 1943 until hostilities ceased. From here, both battle plans and personnel were dispersed to various fronts throughout the conflict. In happier times, straddling the war years, the building also played host to sporting parties and some notable guests. After falling into disrepair, the manor house was finally and happily returned to The Macallan’s possession in 1959. Today, fully restored, its image features proudly on every bottle that leaves the premises.
This prized bottle’s content is a 1967 outturn of a gloriously golden hue. Carefully selected for its expressive flavour notes by Sarah Burgess, it delivers rich hints of light spiced peach, nutmeg and ginger, whilst remaining true to the whisky’s sweet oak and hazelnut depths.
A one-off, it is an astounding single malt. Mary McCartney’s contemporary photograph shows the bottle against the moonlit manor, an echo perhaps of the monochrome posters for classic 1940s films. Intrigue, atmosphere and suspense swirl about the bottle, unmistakably featured as the hero of the piece. There could not be a more fitting way to record the poised and precious spirit that waits within.