The launch coincides with the announcement that The Macallan has been awarded the prestigious title of Distiller of the Year 2008 by USA publication, Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
Returning to his homeland, Paisley-born Rankin, best known for his fashion photography and portraits of everyone from The Queen to Madonna, was invited to The Macallan’s Speyside estate to interpret the iconic whisky brand through his camera lens. The result is a series of 1,000 stunning black and white images, captured on Polaroid film. Each limited edition bottle of rare 30 year old Macallan Fine Oak single malt displays a bespoke label featuring one of the Rankin images, accompanied by the original Polaroid. This collection of 1,000 unique, individual works of art is a world first and will be sold by luxury retailers worldwide.
The Macallan is ranked number two by value[1] among the world’s top selling single malts and is recognised as being a leader within the Scotch Whisky industry when it comes to innovation. Fine Oak now accounts for one in every four bottles of all sales of The Macallan, just five years after its launch. It has been the most successful, truly new Single Malt brand launch in history and is the whisky contained in The Masters of Photography bottle featuring the label shot by Rankin.
Ken Grier, Director of Malts, The Edrington Group, said: “Our partnership with Rankin really is something different and daring for the Scotch whisky sector due to the range of images that will be featured on the bottle labels and we believe that there will be huge demand from consumers wanting to own a Masters of Photography bottle. In fact bottles of The Macallan are already highly prized by collectors. The 1926 vintage from The Macallan Fine & Rare Collection was bought for US$70,000 by a private buyer in South Korea in 2005. In the same year we launched an extremely rare 50 year old whisky in a Lalique crystal decanter and have subsequently seen examples of the decanter for sale at double its original price of £3,500.
“Demand for The Macallan’s range of premium whiskies has increased by 87 per cent over the last five years, particularly in our overseas markets and we have increased our production at The Macallan distillery to keep pace with this. We anticipate that The Masters of Photography bottle will generate interest amongst a wider consumer audience and will prove highly collectable both by whisky and art lovers.”
The unique bottle comes presented in a black leather box, lined with velvet and containing an original Rankin Polaroid. Each bottle will have an individually printed label which matches the specific Polaroid contained within the box and a booklet of authenticity signed by Rankin.
The array of images captured by Rankin is breathtaking, depicting a range of locations around The Macallan estate, including Easter Elchies House, the distillery, dedicated craftspeople and still life images of the surrounding flora and fauna. Many of the images are further enhanced with artistic nude studies, featuring Tuuli, Rankin’s muse.
The Macallan Fine Oak is triple cask matured in a unique, complex combination of exceptional oak casks. This triple cask maturation is exclusive to The Macallan and combines European oak casks seasoned with sherry, American oak casks seasoned with sherry and American oak casks seasoned with bourbon to deliver an extraordinary smooth, delicate, yet complex Single Malt.
The Macallan Masters of Photography Fine Oak 30 year old bottles will be available for purchase throughout the world, and will be launched in Russia, Singapore, Korea and the USA over the next few months. In the UK, The Macallan Masters of Photography Rankin Edition can be purchased exclusively at luxury retailers for £899 (RRP).
The Macallan Masters of Photography will be unveiled this evening at a launch party in London. An exhibition of the images featured on the limited edition bottles will be on show from 10am – 6pm, Friday 14 to Sunday 16 November, at the Huntingdon Project Space, 28 Redchurch Street, London E2 7DP.
www.themastersofphotography.com
