The Macallan debuts sensational new Scotch distillery

Jake Emen | Special to USA TODAY

Nearly 200 years after The Macallan's debut in 1824, the luxury single malt Scotch producer has unveiled a game-changing distillery and visitor center on its 370-acre estate in Craigellachie, in the heart of Scotland's Speyside region. Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, the new distillery took six years of planning and a price tag of approximately $186 million (£140 million).

One of Scotch whisky's flagship brands now proudly boasts the pre-eminent destination for the entire industry, a Macallan mecca showcasing grand architectural design, a plethora of interactive experiences, jaw-dropping views of its 36 copper pot stills, and a tasting library that houses 952 bottles of The Macallan stretching back to 1936.

"People can now take a pilgrimage to Macallan," says Ken Grier, The Macallan's creative director. "It is an architectural marvel, and it gives us a fantastic, world-class destination."

The rooftop of the distillery has been designed as a series of rolling grass-covered peaks, a geodesic structure touted as one of the most complex timber structures in the world. The building is actually buried into the grassy hillside, with Grier describing the project's scope as akin to building a horizontal skyscraper (also noting that the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral could fit under the distillery's rooftop). It's all meant to fit into the surrounding environs of the estate, and 95% of its energy requirements will come via renewable sources.

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The distillery draws further inspiration from a number of Scottish architectural and historical points of reference, as well as from Santiago Calatrava's Bodegas Ysios in Spain. That's no coincidence, as The Macallan controls a sherry bodega in Spain for the production of its sherry-seasoned casks, importing roughly 80% of the first fill sherry casks used across the Scotch industry.

Uniquely, this wasn't a simple expansion or renovation, but a new distillery built from scratch. Production ceased on the old stills at the end of 2017, and the new stills have been humming away since. Key to that process is that the "curiously small" stills are exact replicas of the previous generation, keeping all aspects of distillation and resulting flavor the same. "It's really important that every aspect of our production is identical," Grier says.

Coming off a year in which The Macallan topped 1 million cases sold (a first), the new facility boasts a third more production firepower than its predecessor. There are 300,000 casks maturing onsite across a collection of warehouses, with plenty more on the way.

"We're not satisfied just being the leading Scotch whisky brand, but the ultimate luxury spirit in the world," says Crawford Gillies, chairman of The Edrington Group, owners of The Macallan. "This is the facility that fits that image."

The Macallan's new distillery and visitor center officially opens to the public on June 2. Tours take approximately 90 minutes and should be booked in advance at themacallan.com. View the photo gallery above for a sneak peek at the distillery, including images of its grand opening party.