[UPDATE] FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE

The Macallan Harmony Collection has been Macallan's most sought after series in the last two years, having started with the Rich Cacao and then followed by the Intense Arabica - each has seen the Scotch distillery collaborate with a luminary in their own fields.

Now, we're in the third leg of the annual series, that let's not forget is all about spotlighting sustainable packaging materials from using discarded cacao husks to discarded coffee bean husks, and it seems like we're taking a trip to Scotland's meadows with Stella and Mary McCartney - unveiling the Macallan Harmony Collection Amber Meadow.

It's lower proof accompaniment will be named Green Meadow.

"The Macallan Amber Meadow has been created in collaboration with Mary and Stella McCartney to celebrate our shared love of the lush and fertile lands of Scotland and the serene nature that lies within it.

To mark our deep connection with the land, discarded meadow cuttings have been given new life in this presentation box and bottle labels.

Our Whisky Mastery Team has taken inspiration from natural Scottish grasslands and created a single malt aged in both sherry seasoned oak and bourbon casks, redolent of warm meadows and mature barley fields, with a rich, citrus scented finish."

“There is so much to discover with The Macallan Harmony Collection Amber Meadow. It is a single malt redolent of warm meadows and mature barley fields, with a rich, citrus-scented finish.

“The 100% natural summer evening colour derived from our exceptional Sherry-seasoned oak and Bourbon casks reflects the richness of the flavour which awaits.

“On the nose, fresh citrus fruits and honeysuckle are complemented by hints of vanilla, coconut and ripe barley fields.

“On tasting, notes of oak, lemon, melon are prominent, accompanied by flavours of classic scone and almond with green tea, before giving way to a rich and sweet long finish.”

The McCartney sisters, Mary and Stella, are notable photographers/filmmakers and fashion designers respectively, and are both daughters of Paul McCartney of the legendary British band, The Beatles.

Top Row: Stella McCartney (Left) and Mary McCartney (Right).

Macallan Harmony Collection Amber Meadow - Tasting Notes 

Orange and lemon aromas, alongside oak and melon notes.

Macallan Harmony Collection Green Meadow - Tasting Notes

Citrus and wild primrose aromas, alongside vanilla and almond notes.

The new Macallan Harmony Collection Amber Meadow expression will be bottled at 44.2% ABV, while the accompanying Macallan Harmony Collection Green Meadow expression is bottled at 40.2% ABV.

The new expression is available from October at Harrods, Selfridges and The Whisky Exchange at an RRP of US$196.

A limited edition collection of 11 lifestyle pieces designed by the McCartney sisters will be launched as well, including bespoke pieces of handmade glassware and ceramic flasks - the full collection comes as a complete set priced at US$12,280.

| Read: Macallan Rich Cacao REVIEWED! | Macallan Intense Arabica REVIEWED!

Our Take

This is certainly unexpected! The past two expressions in the Harmony Collection while somewhat unsurprisingly tapped on food pairings and flavour associations had generated a whole lot of buzz, but it would be surprising if anyone saw a collaboration with the McCartney sisters in the pipeline. 

Nonetheless Macallan has worked with designers and photographers before and if this goes anything like those past collabs, we should expect a pretty interesting design for the bottle's packaging, which would definitely be a break from the past two iterations of the brown cardboard design that evoked the whole "recyclable" sensibility.

Another aspect that would be quite interesting to see would be what the secondary lower proof release for the Amber Meadow would be named. Past iterations had Rich Cacao and then Fine Cacao for the lower proof release, as well as Intense Arabica and Smooth Arabica similarly for the higher and lower proof releases respectively. Would this be Amber Meadow and Gold Meadow or Sienna Meadow (a la Macallan's past 1824 Series of Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby)?

Finally, it would be interesting as well to see what the launch and promotional experience for fans will be like. Previous iterations saw Macallan provide fans chocolates and coffee during the bottling's promotional experience. Would we be taken through a simulation of a Scottish meadow? What's the food pairing going to be like, if any?

Definitely going to follow along for this one.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team