11th September, 2012 by Becky Paskin

The Macallan is to release a new four-part range of Scotch whisky, The Macallan 1824 Series, which is discerned by the colour of the liquid rather than age.

The Series will launch this September in the UK with the release of The Macallan Gold, an ageless single malt whisky matured in both American oak and Spanish oak Oloroso sherry casks.

The Macallan Gold, a 40% abv whisky which has aromas of candied orange, sherbet, vanilla and toffee, with flavours of orange peel, caramel, sultanas and baked apples, will replace The Macallan’s 10 Year Old permanently as the brand’s entry level whisky.

The Series as a whole will also replace The Macallan’s fine oak and sherry oak expressions from 10 Year Old to 17 Year Old, making the 18 Year Old the youngest whisky in its portfolio with an age statement.

The Series, claims Joy Eliot, The Macallan brand ambassador, helps communicate two of The Macallan’s core themes: colour and wood.

“Part of why we are doing this, is all about colour,” she said. “The Macallan doesn’t add any spirit caramel to its whisky. Instead we use a range of woods to define our range of colours.”

The Macallan Gold will only be available in the UK and Canada and will carry an RRP of £35.

The rest of the range however will be shipped to around 50 markets worldwide, including core European markets and emerging markets such as Brazil, Vietnam and Mexico. Asia Pacific will receive the Series in one to two years’ time.

The rest of the Series, which have been matured for either longer or in a wider range of casks, consists of:

Amber: Another 40% abv whisky with an RRP of £45, which will be available in France in October.

Sienna: A 43% abv whisky with an RRP of £75 that will be available in global markets from April

Ruby: The premium product in The Macallan 1824 Series, which carries an RRP of £120 and an abv of 43%.

With the absence of age statements, The Macallan has designed the packaging of the Series to reflect the colour, flavour and price point of each whisky.

The Macallan 1824 Series is separate to The Macallan 1824 Collection that is currently exclusively available in global travel retail. Elliot added that the Series may come to be known as ‘The Colour Range’ in time.